Det Kongelige Teater’s chief conductor dies of coronavirus

Alexander Vedernikov, one of the world’s most famous conductors, had been working in Denmark for eleven years

One of the world’s most sought-after guest conductors, Alexander Vedernikov, has died at the age of 56 as a result of COVID-19 complications.

Prior to his death, he spent a short period on a ventilator, but it was in vain.

He was due to take to the stage for a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony tonight.

Great talent
In 2016, the esteemed Russian conductor joined Det Kongelige Teater after a seven year stint as chief conductor at the Odense Symphony Orchestra. Before that, he had been musical director at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

In 2009 he made headlines in a dramatic exit from his role at the Bolshoi Theatre, claiming that it was putting “bureaucratic interests before artistic ones”.

A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, he previously conducted some of the world’s most famous orchestras, including the Orchestre de Paris and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.