Teodor Currentzis
Теодор Курентзис
Conductor, founder and artistic director of the orchestra and choir musicAeterna
Founder and Artistic Director of the musicAeterna orchestra and choir.
Born and raised in Greece, where he began his musical education, he moved to Russia in 1994 to study under the legendary professor Ilya Musin at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory. Since then, his life and career have been closely linked with Russia.
In 2004, he became the Chief Conductor of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, where he founded the musicAeterna orchestra and choir. From 2011 to 2019, he served as the Artistic Director of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, with the musicAeterna ensemble relocating alongside him. Since 2012, he has been the Artistic Director of the Diaghilev Festival in Perm. From 2018 to 2024, he held the position of Chief Conductor of the SWR Symphonieorchester (Symphony Orchestra of Southwest German Radio) in Germany. In 2019, Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna moved to St. Petersburg, establishing their artistic residency at the city's historic House of Radio.
As a conductor for opera productions, he collaborates with leading stage directors worldwide—such as Robert Wilson, Romeo Castellucci, Peter Sellars, and Theodoros Terzopoulos—and with major opera houses across Europe and Russia. During his tenure at the Perm Opera, he championed contemporary music, premiering several works commissioned on his initiative. These include the opera Nosferatu by Dmitry Kourliandski (2014), the Violin Concerto by Sergey Nevsky (2015), the opera Cantos by Alexey Syumak (2016), and the choral opera Tristia by Philippe Hersant (2016).
With musicAeterna and other leading orchestras, he regularly tours the world's most prestigious concert halls. These venues include the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Münchner Philharmonie (Gasteig), and Philharmonie de Paris; the concert halls in Cologne (Kölner Philharmonie) and Madrid (Auditorio Nacional); the Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna); The Shed in New York; Suntory Hall (Tokyo); the Royal Albert Hall (London); the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden; Teatro alla Scala (Milan); the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory; Zaryadye Hall (Moscow); and the St. Petersburg Philharmonia. Teodor Currentzis is also a regular guest at major international festivals, including those in Salzburg, Lucerne, Aix-en-Provence, Bochum, and St. Petersburg.
The recordings of works by Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rameau, and Stravinsky, released by Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna on the Sony Classical label, have received widespread critical acclaim and have been awarded prestigious prizes such as the ECHO KLASSIK, Edison Klassiek, Japanese Record Academy Award, and the BBC Music Magazine’s Opera Award.
In 2024, Teodor Currentzis, in collaboration with the Belgian independent company Outhere Music, founded his own record label, Theta (Θ). The label focuses on releasing recordings made by the various ensembles under his musical direction.
Teodor Currentzis is a nine-time laureate of the Russian National Theatre Prize Golden Mask, a laureate of the KAIROS Prize, a Commander of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece), and a recipient of the Russian Order of Friendship.
Born and raised in Greece, where he began his musical education, he moved to Russia in 1994 to study under the legendary professor Ilya Musin at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory. Since then, his life and career have been closely linked with Russia.
In 2004, he became the Chief Conductor of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, where he founded the musicAeterna orchestra and choir. From 2011 to 2019, he served as the Artistic Director of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, with the musicAeterna ensemble relocating alongside him. Since 2012, he has been the Artistic Director of the Diaghilev Festival in Perm. From 2018 to 2024, he held the position of Chief Conductor of the SWR Symphonieorchester (Symphony Orchestra of Southwest German Radio) in Germany. In 2019, Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna moved to St. Petersburg, establishing their artistic residency at the city's historic House of Radio.
As a conductor for opera productions, he collaborates with leading stage directors worldwide—such as Robert Wilson, Romeo Castellucci, Peter Sellars, and Theodoros Terzopoulos—and with major opera houses across Europe and Russia. During his tenure at the Perm Opera, he championed contemporary music, premiering several works commissioned on his initiative. These include the opera Nosferatu by Dmitry Kourliandski (2014), the Violin Concerto by Sergey Nevsky (2015), the opera Cantos by Alexey Syumak (2016), and the choral opera Tristia by Philippe Hersant (2016).
With musicAeterna and other leading orchestras, he regularly tours the world's most prestigious concert halls. These venues include the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Münchner Philharmonie (Gasteig), and Philharmonie de Paris; the concert halls in Cologne (Kölner Philharmonie) and Madrid (Auditorio Nacional); the Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna); The Shed in New York; Suntory Hall (Tokyo); the Royal Albert Hall (London); the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden; Teatro alla Scala (Milan); the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory; Zaryadye Hall (Moscow); and the St. Petersburg Philharmonia. Teodor Currentzis is also a regular guest at major international festivals, including those in Salzburg, Lucerne, Aix-en-Provence, Bochum, and St. Petersburg.
The recordings of works by Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rameau, and Stravinsky, released by Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna on the Sony Classical label, have received widespread critical acclaim and have been awarded prestigious prizes such as the ECHO KLASSIK, Edison Klassiek, Japanese Record Academy Award, and the BBC Music Magazine’s Opera Award.
In 2024, Teodor Currentzis, in collaboration with the Belgian independent company Outhere Music, founded his own record label, Theta (Θ). The label focuses on releasing recordings made by the various ensembles under his musical direction.
Teodor Currentzis is a nine-time laureate of the Russian National Theatre Prize Golden Mask, a laureate of the KAIROS Prize, a Commander of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece), and a recipient of the Russian Order of Friendship.
