Biography of Dmitry Matvienko
Dmitry Matvienko is the Chief Conductor of the Aarhus Symfoniorkester since the 2024/25 season, marking a significant milestone in a career that has already established him as one of the most compelling conductors of his generation. Known for his artistic maturity and interpretive depth, he has led numerous renowned orchestras across Europe, Asia, and America.
He rose to international attention after winning First Prize and the Audience Prize at the prestigious Malko Competition for Young Conductors. Prior to that, he was awarded both the Critics’ Prize and the “Made in Italy” Prize at the Guido Cantelli International Conducting Competition.
Matvienko has conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the DR Symfoniorkestret, Oslo-Filharmonien, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orquestra Gulbenkian, Orchestre National de Lille, Göteborgs Symfoniker, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Malmö Operaorkester, and numerous Italian institutions such as the Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, and Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He has also worked with the Russian National Orchestra, the Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, Arktisk Filharmoni, Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester, and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
In the 2026/27 season, highlights include debuts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Copenhagen Phil, and returns to conduct the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.
He has conducted operas such as Eugene Onegin at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, From the House of the Dead at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Betrothal in a Monastery at Theater an der Wien, and Aida at Opéra Bastille.
Additional engagements in the 2026/27 season include Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges at Opéra national de Lyon, Prokofev’s Romeo und Julia at Opernhaus Zürich, Verdi’s Otello at Opéra de Lille and Musorgskij’s Boris Godunov at La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels.
Born in Belarus, Matvienko began his music studies at the age of six. He studied choral conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and later joined the MusicAeterna Choir under Teodor Currentzis. He then completed conducting studies at the Moscow Conservatory, taking part in masterclasses with Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Vladimir Jurowski, Teodor Currentzis, and Vasily Petrenko.
In 2017, he joined the conductor internship program of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia under Vladimir Spivakov, and later assisted conductors including Jurowski and Petrenko with the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra.
He has conducted the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra, NFOR, New Russia State Symphony Orchestra, and Musica Viva Moscow, leading revivals of operas such as Prince Igor, Faust, Iolanta, La Traviata, The Tsar’s Bride, The Firebird, and Verdi’s Requiem at the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus. He also served as musical assistant to Vladimir Jurowski for productions of The Nose (directed by Kirill Serebrennikov) and War and Peace (directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov) at the Bayerische Staatsoper.
Maestro Fabio Luisi has praised him as follows:
“Dmitry Matvienko is a complete musician with exceptional conducting skills. A superb technique, paired with a deep knowledge of the repertoire, makes him an exceptional conductor, both for opera and for symphonic projects.”