Of Russian and Polish parentage, EMMANUEL KRIVINE developed a strong interest in symphonic and organ music at a very early age. It was, however, as a violinist that he made his professional debut.

At the age of 16 he was awarded first prize at the Conservatoire; as a member of the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, he studied with Henryck Szeryng and Yehudi Menuhin, while also taking part in major international competitions. In 1965, his Salzburg meeting with Karl Böhm proved decisive; the emphasis of his career gradually shifted from solo performance to realizing his long-cherished ambition to conduct.

As Permanent Guest Conductor of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France between 1976 and 1983, he collaborated with fine international soloists and conducted many televised concerts. However, it was in 1983 during a German tour acclaimed by press and public alike, that his talent as a conductor was fully recognized. Since then, he has appeared widely with many world-class ensembles, among them the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and NHK Tokyo. For seven years he was also conductor of the French National Youth Orchestra.

In 1987 he became Musical Director of l'Orchestre National de Lyon, a post he held until summer 2000. During his tenure, he made many award-winning recordings that testify to his excellence in repertoire ranging from Mozart to contemporary works.

Previous seasons have included his highly successful debut at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, an acclaimed Japanese tour with Martha Argerich and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, another tour with Maria João Pires and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, successful debuts with the City of Birmingham and BBC Symphony orchestras, the Detroit Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and the Minnesota, Cleveland, and Philadelphia Orchestras.

The past season included concerts with the Orchestre National de France, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano "Giuseppe Verdi," the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bremen Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, and the Orchestre National du Luxembourg. Emmanuel Krivine also conducted four concerts at the first "Mostly Mozart" in London's Barbican Centre (July 2002) and visited major North American festivals, including Tanglewood and Philadelphia's Mann Music Center.

The 2002/2003 season includes performances with the London Philharmonia, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, the Orchestre National du Luxembourg, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta de Barcelona, the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Appointed their Music Director for 2001 and 2002, he has also renewed his association with the French National Youth Orchestra.