Guerassim Voronkov

Conductor, pianist, violinist and composer Guerassim Voronkov learned his art in his native Russia and practices it in a variety of ways, from composition to interpretation all the way to arts administration and concert production and research.

Guerassim Voronkov was born in Moscow in 1960. At the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory he studied violin with Svetlana Bezrodnaia and piano with Anna Artobolevskaia, the latter being a particularly valuable influence in his development. He completed his violin studies with Igor Bezrodni and orchestral and opera conducting with Yuri Simonov as an honour student at the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Between 1981 and 1990 he played first violin in the Bolshoi Orchestra, where he founded the Bolshoi Chamber Orchestra in 1988. In 1989, he was appointed music director of the Symphonic Orchestra of the School of the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, performing concerts and making recordings in Russia, Austria and France. At that time, he was also invited to appear with different orchestras in the former Soviet Union, such as the Moscow Philharmonic and the Omsk Symphony.

In 1991, he moved to Barcelona and since then has pursued his work as conductor, concert promoter and arts manager, including the founding of the Camerata Mediterranea Orchestra in 1993 with which he performed during its seven years of existence at numerous concerts and made recordings and radio programs. Since 1998, Guerassim Voronkov has led the Simfònica del Conservatori Superior del Liceu in Barcelona and, since 2004, has been the regular conductor of the Simfònica de l’Acadèmia of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. In 2012, Guerassim Voronkov toured with Rolando Villazón and the Nuevo Mundo Chamber Orchestra to present the tenor’s “Treasures of Belcanto” recording and Europe Verdi tour 2013. He is now an Associate Professor (Master of Conducting) at the Music Conservatory of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Guerassim Voronkov has conducted the Symphonic Orchestra of the Liceu, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Filarmónica de Bogotá. He has worked with artists such as Rolando Villazon, Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo, Carlos Álvarez, Elena Obraztsova, María Katzarava among many others, and he has worked side by side with conductors such as Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Bertran de Billy, Riccardo Muti  and Sebastian Weigle. His highlights as a composer include Barça-Champions (in celebration of FC Barcelona’s second European Cup victory) (2006), the La Vanguardia Fanfare (celebrating the 125th anniversary of the newspaper) (2006), a new ending to the opera Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky that was premiered in the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in 2007, as well as new soundtracks to Buster Keaton’s The General (2008), Steam suite for string quartet (2012), Harold Lloyd’s Safety last (2015), Liberty and You’re Darn Tootin (2016), or Album de familie for violin and piano (2018). Recently he has recorded with Filarmónica de Medellin Cd “Sounds of dreams” with his symphonic works Cinematographic poem, Divertimento, Suite Safety Last and Songerie (2019). Guerassim Voronkov is currently writing his work for the doctoral programme in music at the University of Aveiro Rereading of Symphony No. 15 by D. Shostakovich through a transcription for chamber ensemble.