Khudyakov, Oleg (born 1994) — Russian conductor and pianist, a native of Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod Region. Since September 2026, he has served as chief conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Philharmonic named after M. L. Rostropovich.[1][2][3]

Education and early career

Khudyakov graduated from the Sarov Children's School of Arts, then studied from 2008 to 2013 at the Central Music School attached to the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Professor Valery Pyasetsky.[1] In 2018 he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Professor Sergei Dorensky, and in 2022 completed the assistantship-internship program at the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Professor Nina Kogan.[1] In 2021 he earned a Master of Performance degree from the Hochschule für Musik Basel (Switzerland) in the class of Professor Claudio Martínez Mehner.[1] That same year he honed his conducting skills at the international Pasantia Basel masterclasses.[1] In 2022 he enrolled in the opera and symphonic conducting faculty of the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Professor Anatoly Levin.[1]

He began his artistic career as a pianist, having started learning to play the piano at the age of six.[4] His early competition prizes include: 2nd prize at the International Young Musicians' Competition in Bucharest (2004), 3rd prize at the "Step Toward Mastery" competition in Saint Petersburg (2007), 2nd prize and two special prizes at the S. V. Rachmaninoff Competition in Darmstadt (2008), 1st prize at the Rachmaninoff Competition in Tambov (2012), and 1st prize at the Rachmaninoff Competition in Bonn (2013).[1] Later prizes include: 1st prize at the "Russian Seasons" competition in Yekaterinburg (2015), 3rd prizes at the Manja competitions in Podgorica and Almaty (2015), 1st prize at the Vera Lotar-Shevchenko Memorial Competition in Yekaterinburg (2016), 3rd prize at the NTD International Piano Competition in New York (2016), 2nd prize at the German Piano Open in Berlin (2017), Grand Prix at the S. I. Savshansky Competition in Saint Petersburg (2018), and 2nd prize at the competition in Lagny-sur-Marne, France (2018).[1] At the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015, he was awarded the special title of "Best Accompanist" in the violin category.[1]

Conducting Career

In 2025, he won First Prize and the Gold Medal at the Second International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors named after S. V. Rachmaninoff in Moscow, in the conducting category.[1][3] That same year, he conducted Tchaikovsky's opera *Iolanta* at the Bolshoi Theatre.[1] In May 2026, he conducted the Yevgeny Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra at the Fifth International Young Pianists Competition Grand Piano Competition.[1]

He has collaborated with leading Russian symphony ensembles: the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theatre Symphony Orchestra, the Yevgeny Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the P. I. Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra, the GSO Novaya Rossiya, the Russian National Orchestra, as well as the philharmonic orchestras of Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Vladimir, and Irkutsk.[1][3] He has performed in the United States, Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Romania, and China.[1] He has participated in the festivals "Stars on Baikal," "Hvorostovsky," Denis Matsuev's Summer Festival in Suzdal, "Stars at the Rhine" in Basel, and others.[1][3]

Connection with the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic

Khudyakov's connection with the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic dates back to his youth: he has performed four times on the stage of the Kremlin Concert Hall, including alongside the Academic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Skulsky and Renat Zhiganshin, and has been a prize-winner at the New Names festival and a recipient of a scholarship from the charitable foundation of the same name.[2][3] In 2026, he appeared with the orchestra as a conductor at the Fifth "Music over the Volga" festival, and also toured with it to Yoshkar-Ola and Cheboksary as part of the Russian Ministry of Culture's "All-Russian Philharmonic Seasons" programme.[2][3]

On 22 September 2026, the artistic director of the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic, Olga Tomina, introduced Khudyakov to the orchestra's ensemble — on the 75th birthday of his predecessor Vladimir Ponkin, who had held the post of chief conductor from June 2023 to September 2026.[1][3] Before Ponkin, the orchestra had been led at various times by Israel Gusman (until 1988), Vladimir Ziva (1988–2000), and Aleksandr Skulsky (2000–2022).[1] The appointment was officially announced by the Ministry of Culture of Nizhny Novgorod Region on 23 September 2026.[3] His first appearance as chief conductor was the season-opening concert for 2026–2027, held on 26 September 2026, featuring Beethoven's Triple Concerto for piano, violin, and cello (with the Brahms Trio soloists: Nataliya Rubinshteyn, Graf Murzha, and Kirill Rodin) and Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major ("The Great"), which opened the "Beethoven and His Time" cycle.[1][2][3]

Skulsky died suddenly in August 2022 at the age of 80; prior to Ponkin's permanent appointment, the orchestra was led by principal guest conductor Ivan Nikiforchin.[4]

Chronicle of Events

Details of each event are in its dedicated article; dates and summaries are given here.

Sources

  1. muzobozrenie.ru — Oleg Khudyakov — Chief Conductor of the Nizhny Novgorod Academic Symphony Orchestra — Muzykalnoye Obozreniye
  2. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Oleg Khudyakov Appointed New Chief Conductor of the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic Orchestra. Nizhny Novgorod News (archive)
  3. Vremya N — New Chief Conductor Appointed for the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic
  4. Govorit Nizhny — Alexander Skulsky, Ponkin's predecessor as chief conductor, died suddenly in August 2022 at the age of 80. After his death, prior to the appoint