Think back 20 or 30 years. Trying to spot a female conductor in one of the world’s leading concert halls would have had almost zero chance of success. How the world has changed, with a new generation of young women conductors now rising to positions of influence…
Read MoreOver the next ten years, Yankovskaya believes that new work will take precedence over the warhorses. It’s not about rejecting the standard repertory, she explains, but about embracing the new…
Read MoreIt’s hard to keep track of the force of nature that is Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya…
Read MoreYankovskaya delivers performances that hold a striking blend of strength and sensitivity…
Read MoreCan music be a form of resistance? We spoke to two artists who are challenging the limits of musical free expression…
Read MoreLidiya Yankovskaya is on a mission to create an operagoing culture in the United States, on par with that of Europe and her native Russia.
Read MoreWith conducting, however, Yankovskaya found a perfect fit for her talents and temperament. The often-solitary career of a solo violinist or pianist didn’t appeal to her, and she craved the collaboration of conducting an orchestra or, especially, directing an opera company.
Read MoreOpera experimentalism has flourished in the past decade among a gaggle of startup companies around the city. Yankovskaya is taking that energy and injecting it into a major company. Naysayers accuse opera of resuscitating a permanent past. Here is where you can see the present.
Read MoreLidiya joins BBC World’s Newsday to discuss her Refugee Orchestra Project and the cultural enrichment immigrants and refugees bring to society.
Read More“Amid the current proliferation of nativism across the industrialized world, musicians are uniquely positioned to convey the following simple message that we should all, as artists, understand: no matter who you are, where you are from, how much money you have, or what language you speak, you have inherent worth.”
Read More“The richness, variety and depth of music that has come out of immigrant and refugee communities is immense. I hope our audiences see that refugees have come from many places throughout our history, and any of us could find ourselves in the position of desperately needing help.”
Read MoreLidiya Yankovskaya has a passion for the new and for the neglected. She’s here for a Refugee Orchestra concert, she’s the Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, and a whole host of other things that make me feel deeply inadequate.
Read More“Today, I often still find myself the sole female voice in a room, and I see an even bigger lack of other types of diversity within my profession. How can we all work to bring a plurality of viewpoints to every area of our art form?”
Read More“All of us who are on that stage come to the experience with our own feelings and our emotions about what fleeing and seeking for home means to us.” The Refugee Orchestra Project brings together musicians from all over the world and provides a space for refugees and immigrants to share their experiences through music.
Read More“Opera’s strength has been in its ability to unite the arts to tell powerful, moving stories. In order to cultivate a diverse generation of talent, we must find a way to overcome the existing limitations of accessibility to sufficient training.”
Read More“In bypassing institutional gatekeepers, these conductors have brought relevance, vitality, and an expanding number of previously unrepresented voices into the field. Indeed, the dynamic new ‘catalyst-conductor’ could help bring the revitalization that the classical music industry so desperately seeks.”
Read MoreHer musical presence has revitalized a company that had become a shadow of itself. The Chicago premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick in April was a major event, in no small part because of Yankovskaya’s elucidation of the score… The Chicago premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta was no less revelatory.
Read MoreFounded in 2015 by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, the ROP has taken its message of inclusion to hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world via live and streamed performances in New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and at the United Nations. The UK debut concert will raise money for London-based charity Refugee Action.
Read MoreWhen the Mobile Symphony Orchestra takes the Saenger Theatre stage at month’s end, a pioneer will lead them. But that’s what trailblazers do, isn’t it?
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