Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, who was previously Music Director at the Chicago Opera Theater and who regularly conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is among a number of prominent musicians who are opting to leave the USA, according to a report by WBEZ Chicago.
Read MoreYankovskaya is among a growing list of classical musicians moving overseas, where she says cultural institutions are supported by a robust public funding apparatus — a starker contrast than ever to the U.S., where the Trump administration is moving to curtail federal investments in the arts.
Read MoreRenowned conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya joins Fox32 ahead of her final hometown concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia, reflecting on her journey, upcoming global move to London, and the future of classical music.
Read More“Art is no mere commodity, like a rejected product sold by an exploitative corporation or an aggressor in a war. Art has the capacity to change minds, shift cultures, challenge assumptions. Choosing not to perform deprives artists and art of power, and it aids regimes that fear being culturally challenged.”
Read More"My favorite thing about conducting is probably the ability to connect with the audience. There are so few places in our world today where we all get to come together and communally experience something."
Read MoreYankovskaya stopped by the CBS6 studio and talked to morning anchor Julia Dunn about her journey to the U.S. and her love for music.
Read More“My high school orchestra conductor saw something in me. Jeff not only put me on the podium and gave me this opportunity but he gave me time with the orchestra, and he created this atmosphere where the other students and I could collaborate and work together as one. As soon as I got on that podium, it just felt right.”
Read More“Storytelling is how we evolve as humans. It is how we make change and enact change. It is how we preserve tradition as well, and how we deal with emotional crises, and also how we absorb the most joyful times in our lives.”
Read More“I loved bringing people together and making things happen and drawing out the best in them,” Yankovskaya said. “That appealed to me: be a maker, a doer. To thrill and move an audience. It's so powerful. And it's different because it's collaborative. As a pianist, it's so lonely. But as a conductor it's more fun with other people and more challenging.”
Read MoreWorld-renowned conductor and Guilderland High School graduate Lidiya Yankovskaya returns to the Capital Region to guest conduct the Albany Symphony—the orchestra whose concerts she regularly attended while growing up.
Read MoreThe music of different cultures has always been part of her life. Drawing these strands together leads to Yankovskaya’s commitment to new music.
Read MoreIn the male-dominated world of classical music, conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya often garners attention as the only woman in the room. It’s not a distinction she ever sought out, or even gave much thought to. Her focus has always been on the music.
Read MoreConductor Lidiya Yankovskaya recently met with MCR journalist Daniel Krenz to talk about concert halls, music, and her approaching program with the Nashville Symphony.
Read MoreWith funding for new work an ever-shrinking resource, conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya tailors her approach to the budget available and – along with her peers – makes the case for experimentation in opera.
Read MoreRussian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya comes to Opera Australia to conduct Puccini’s Il trittico, a rare triptych of operas which span tragedy, farce, and religious fervour. Lidiya is at home with the operatic canon but she’s also conducted a swathe of new opera world premieres. She joins Andy to talk about finding the same passion for the music through new and old works.
Read MoreFew musicians can claim to have conducted more than 40 world premieres by the age of 38. Step forward Lidiya Yankovskaya, the outgoing music director of Chicago Opera Theater and named Chicagoan of the Year for 2020. It seems startling to relinquish such a post, but Yankovskaya feels ready for the challenges ahead.
Read MoreEnglish National Opera needed a new conductor to jump into a production of a tricky and disturbing 20th-century masterpiece. Luckily there was an obvious candidate: why not get the conductor who had led another challenging 20th-century masterpiece at ENO — and had a triumph? So the Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, the conductor of last year’s acclaimed ENO production of Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, stepped in.
Read MoreThe number of female conductors on the world’s orchestral podiums might be rising, but there is still some distance to cover, writes Jessica Duchen. Fast-rising star Lidiya Yankovskaya doesn’t mince her words about the challenges she has faced. “There’s a misconception that we’ve changed things more than we have. That’s because we started in a place that was so bad.”
Read MoreAs music director of the Chicago Opera Theater for the past seven years, Lidiya Yankovskaya has brought well-earned attention to the company with her commitment to presenting compelling interpretations of a varied repertoire. Now she has said she will step down at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, with her final production as The Nose, Shostakovich's absurdist political satire.
Read MoreYankovskaya has raised the profile of COT immensely, her interpretations bracing and repertoire head-spinningly varied: She led 25 new-to-Chicago works, 11 of which were world premieres. She’s also fashioned COT as a primo stop for artists growing their careers by formalizing COT’s Young Artist Program and founding its Vanguard Initiative, which pairs first-time opera composers with accomplished librettists to trial-run a new work.
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