Jerzy Semkow Jerzy Semkow has gained an international reputation through his appearances with the world's leading orchestras and opera companies. His conducting posts have included tenures as Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony, as Principal Conductor of the Royal Danish Opera and the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen, as Music Advisor and Principal Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic, as Music Director of the Orchestra of Radio-Televisione Italiana (RAI) in Rome and as Artistic Director of the National Opera in Warsaw. Maestro Semkow has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Paris, and the National Orchestra of Belgium, as well as the principal orchestras of London, Vienna, Stockholm, Madrid, Frankfurt, Monte Carlo, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Milan, Rome, Florence and Jerusalem, among other music centers. In the United States, he has led the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony of Washington, DC, the Chicago, Dallas and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the symphonies of San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston, Minnesota, Utah and others. Highlights of Maestro Semkow's 2000-01 season include concerts with the Berlin Radio Symphony and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. He also conducts the Detroit Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic. In the 1999-2000 season Maestro Semkow returned to the Orchestre National de France to conduct Bruckner's Symphony No. 7, spent two weeks with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic and returned to the Strasbourg Philharmonic and the Basque National Orchestra in San Sebastian (Spain). In North America, he had re-engagements with the Detroit Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Saint Louis Symphony and the Utah Symphony. Maestro Semkow's activities in the 1998-99 season included season-opening concerts with the NDR Radio-Philharmonie in Hannover, Germany; performances with the Ensemble Orchestral liug$axis, a new production of "Boris Godunov" with the Rome Opera, and multiple concerts with the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre National de Lyon. He also conducted gala performances of the Mahler Symphony No. 3 with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. In North America, he returned to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic in addition to making his debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. As an operatic conductor, Maestro Semkow has been equally successful. His engagements have included productions at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Grand Theatre of Geneva, the Maggio Musicale in Florence, La Fenice in Venice, the Teatro del Opera of Rome and the Aix-en-Provence Festival with the Orchestre de Paris, where he conducted all of Mozart's later operas. He also conducted a performance of Haydn's "Creation" at the Vatican in the presence of the Pope, telecast by Eurovision throughout Europe, as well as a special concert, also at the Vatican honoring the tenth anniversary of the Papal Ceremony and Vesture of John-Paul II. Maestro Semkow's discography includes the first complete original version of Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" for EMI. This recording has been honored with several international awards including France's Grand Prix du Disque, Germany's Schallplattenpreis, Italy's Grand Prix of Music Critics and a Grammy Award nomination. Also for EMI, he has recorded Borodin's "Prince Igor" with Boris Christoff and the National Opera of Sofia. Among his other recordings are all of the major orchestral works by Tchaikovsky and Brahms, the last 10 Mozart Symphonies with the National Philharmonic of Warsaw, and Scriabin's Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3 (" Divine Poem") with the London Philharmonic. With the Saint Louis Symphony he has recorded RimskyKorsakov's "Scheherazade," Schumann's four symphonies and "Manfred Overture," excerpts from Wagner operas, and works for orchestra and chorus by Beethoven, which earned a Grammy nomination. His recordings of Mozart's Symphonies K. 319 and 425 won him a Golden Disc Award. With the Sinfonia Varsovia he has recently recorded Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 2, 6 & 8.