Alexander Polianichko was formerly a violinist in the Leningrad (St Petersburg) Philharmonic Orchestra under Evgeny Mravinsky, and studied conducting with the legendary Professor Ilya Musin at the St Petersburg Conservatoire.
In 1988 he was awarded first prize in the Sixth All-Union Conductors' Competition and the following year joined the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre where he still conducts on a regular basis.
He has conducted the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theatre at the Edinburgh International Festival as well as in China, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United States.
Alexander Polianichko has conducted at such houses as La Scala Milan, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra National de Paris, Stuttgart Opera, Bolshoi Theatre, Royal Danish Opera, San Francisco Opera, Gothenburg Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Mr Polianichko is also a distinguished symphonic conductor and has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the ±«Óãtv Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Bergen Philharmonic, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane Symphony Orchestras and Wellington Symphony Orchestra. He returns to Gothenburg Opera and Welsh National Opera in the 2011/12 season.
