Biography
Conductor Ilan Volkov maintained an extended association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, serving first as chief conductor and later as principal guest conductor. His expertise centers on early twentieth-century repertoire, contemporary compositions, and infrequently programmed pieces drawn from multiple eras.
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, on September 8, 1976, Volkov is the son of pianist Alexander Volkov. He began formal training with Mendi Rodan at Jerusalem’s Rubin Academy before continuing at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At nineteen he received the title Young Conductor in Association with the BBC Northern Sinfonia, later directing both its youth ensemble and the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. A decisive step came in 1999 when Seiji Ozawa appointed him assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During those years he appeared as a guest with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and, in 2003, became its chief conductor—the youngest musician to hold that post with any BBC orchestra. After completing a three-year term he remained with the ensemble as principal guest conductor. In the early 2010s he also served three years as principal conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, leading the ensemble in its first Proms appearance, and he has conducted many other major groups, among them the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris.
In 2012 Volkov established the Tectonics Festival, an annual platform for new music that has taken place in Adelaide, New York, and Athens. Together with violinist Ilya Gringolts he created the I&I Foundation to support contemporary composition. In his native Tel Aviv he helped found the Levontin 7 venue, dedicated to presenting multiple musical genres.
Volkov’s discography exceeds twenty albums, many recorded for Hyperion with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and including such uncommon scores as Nikolai Roslavets’s Chamber Symphony. In 2013 he joined pianist Steven Osborne for a complete survey of Stravinsky’s music for piano and orchestra. He returned in 2021 with the world-premiere recording of Martin Suckling’s This Departing Landscape, again with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, issued on the NMC label.
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, on September 8, 1976, Volkov is the son of pianist Alexander Volkov. He began formal training with Mendi Rodan at Jerusalem’s Rubin Academy before continuing at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At nineteen he received the title Young Conductor in Association with the BBC Northern Sinfonia, later directing both its youth ensemble and the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. A decisive step came in 1999 when Seiji Ozawa appointed him assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During those years he appeared as a guest with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and, in 2003, became its chief conductor—the youngest musician to hold that post with any BBC orchestra. After completing a three-year term he remained with the ensemble as principal guest conductor. In the early 2010s he also served three years as principal conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, leading the ensemble in its first Proms appearance, and he has conducted many other major groups, among them the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris.
In 2012 Volkov established the Tectonics Festival, an annual platform for new music that has taken place in Adelaide, New York, and Athens. Together with violinist Ilya Gringolts he created the I&I Foundation to support contemporary composition. In his native Tel Aviv he helped found the Levontin 7 venue, dedicated to presenting multiple musical genres.
Volkov’s discography exceeds twenty albums, many recorded for Hyperion with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and including such uncommon scores as Nikolai Roslavets’s Chamber Symphony. In 2013 he joined pianist Steven Osborne for a complete survey of Stravinsky’s music for piano and orchestra. He returned in 2021 with the world-premiere recording of Martin Suckling’s This Departing Landscape, again with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, issued on the NMC label.
Albums
Topophony
2018
Stravinsky: Complete Music for Piano & Orchestra
2013
Harvey: Tranquil Abiding, Body Mandala & Other Works
2012
Harvey: Speakings
2010
Britten: Piano Concerto; Diversions; Young Apollo
2008
Rubbra & Walton: Viola Concertos
2007
Live
