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Praised for his exhilarating approach and energetic leadership by musicians and audiences alike, Dima Slobodeniouk has become one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation.

Slobodeniouk works with the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Concertgebouworkest and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Last season, he was praised for giving “one of the most auspicious New York Philharmonic debuts of recent years” by the New York Times.

In the 2022/23 season, Dima Slobodeniouk has been invited to make his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. This season also sees him return to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, Minnesota Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Further highlights of the current season include re-invitations to the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester and special returns to the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, whose Music Director he was until 2022.  

Soloists Slobodeniouk has worked with include Leif Ove Andsnes, Khatia Buniatishvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Isabelle Faust, Kirill Gerstein, Barbara Hannigan, Håkan Hardenberger, Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Beatrice Rana, Baiba Skride, Yuja Wang and Frank Peter Zimmermann. 

Known for his musical expertise and interpretive depth, Slobodeniouk is also an acclaimed recording artist, with recent notable recordings of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicolas Altstaedt on Alpha, and an album of music inspired by the Finnish folk epic, the Kalevala, on BIS. Other releases on the BIS label include the works of Kalevi Aho with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, which won the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Award, a later disc of Aho's "Sieidi" and his Fifth Symphony as well as concert suites of Sergei Prokofiev's opera "The Gambler" and the ballet "The Tale of the Stone Flower" with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. For the Ondine label, Dima Slobodeniouk recorded works by Perttu Haapanen and Lotta Wennäkoski with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Moscow, Dima Slobodeniouk studied violin at the Moscow Central Music School with Zinaida Gilels and Jevgenuia Chugajev. He continued his studies with the Ukrainian violinist Olga Parkhomenko at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, where he graduated in 2001. It was there that he also took up his conducting studies with Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula, Atso Almila, Ilya Musin and Esa-Pekka Salonen. A passionate believer in widening opportunity, he started a conducting initiative whilst at the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, giving aspiring conductors podium time with a professional orchestra and the opportunity to work with Slobodeniouk on selected repertoire.

Slobodeniouk was Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia from 2013 to 2022, Principal Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2021, as well as the Artistic Director of the Sibelius Festival.

For more than three decades, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has performed world-wide, recorded more than 50 albums, and built a reputation as one of today's finest pianists. He plays a range of solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire – from Beethoven through Liszt, Grieg, and Saint-Saëns; to Khachaturian and Gershwin, and to Qigang Chen and James MacMillan. From the very start of his career, he delighted in music beyond the standard repertoire, from jazz to opera, which he transcribed himself to play on the piano. His profound professional friendships crisscross the globe and have led to spontaneous and fruitful collaborations in film, fashion, and visual art.

In 2019-20, Thibaudet renews many longstanding musical partnerships. As the St. Louis Symphony's Artist-in-Residence, he plays a pair of season-opening concerts conducted by longtime friend and collaborator Stéphane Denève, returning for additional programming later in the season. He also tours a program of Schumann, Fauré, Debussy, and Enescu with Midori, followed by the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin. Thibaudet gives the world premiere of Aaron Zigman's Tango Manos concerto for piano and orchestra with the China Philharmonic, and goes on to perform it with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and San Francisco Symphony. Zigman composed the score for Robin Swicord's Wakefield, for which Thibaudet was the soloist; this was the first time that the composer had allowed a pianist other than himself to perform his film work.

A noted interpreter of French music, Thibaudet performs works by Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Connesson and Debussy around the world; as one of the premiere interpreters of Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, Thibaudet plays the piece in his hometown as Artist-in-Residence of the Orchestre National de Lyon, with conductor Susanna Mälkki. He also brings along his passion for Gershwin this season, performing the Concerto for Piano in F Major in Lyon as well as in Houston, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Naples, Tokyo, and at the Bad Kissinger Sommer Festival, where he is Artist-in-Residence.

He also expresses his passion for education and fostering young musical talent as the first-ever Artist-in- Residence at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he makes his home. The school has extended the residency for an additional three years and has announced the Jean-Yves Thibaudet Scholarships to provide aid for Music Academy students, whom Thibaudet will select for the merit-based awards, regardless of their instrument choice.

Thibaudet's recording catalogue has received two Grammy nominations, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d'Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize, and Gramophone awards. In 2017 he released to great acclaim Bernstein's Age of Anxiety with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop, with whom he previously recorded Gershwin, featuring big jazz band orchestrations of Rhapsody in Blue, Variations on "I Got Rhythm", and the Concerto in F. In 2016, on the 150th anniversary of Erik Satie's birth, Decca released a box set of Satie's complete solo piano music performed by Thibaudet – one of the foremost champions of the composer's works. On his Grammy-nominated recording Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerti Nos. 2&5, released in 2007, he is joined by Charles Dutoit and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Thibaudet's Aria–Opera Without Words, which was released the same year, features aria transcriptions, some of which are Thibaudet's own. His other recordings include the jazz albums Reflections on Duke: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Plays the Music of Duke Ellington and Conversations With Bill Evans.

Thibaudet has also had an impact on the worlds of fashion, film, and philanthropy. In addition to Zigman's score for Wakefield, Thibaudet was soloist in Dario Marianelli's award-winning scores for the films Atonement (which won an Oscar for Best Original Score) and Pride and Prejudice, and recorded Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack for the 2012 film Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. He had a cameo in Bruce Beresford's film on Alma Mahler, Bride of the Wind, and his playing is showcased throughout. In 2004 he served as president of the prestigious charity auction Hospices de Beaune. His concert wardrobe is designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, where he began his piano studies at age five and made his first public appearance at age seven. At twelve, he entered the Paris Conservatory to study with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. At age fifteen, he won the Premier Prix du Conservatoire and, three years later, the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York City. Among his numerous commendations is the Victoire d'Honneur, a lifetime career achievement award and the highest honor given by France's Victoires de la Musique. In 2010 the Hollywood Bowl honored Thibaudet for his musical achievements by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Previously a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Thibaudet was awarded the title Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012.