Name
Safonoff, Wassily

Variant name
Vasily Ilyich Safonov

Gender
Male

Birth
January 25, 1852 Ishcherskaya

Death
February 27, 1918 Kislovodsk

Descriptive Note

Wassily Safonoff was the son of a Cossack general who was transferred to Saint Petersburg, where Wassily started hus musical training. He studied piano and graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory of Music. In 1889, he  began to work at the Moscow Conservatory, ultimately becoming its director. 

After retiring from teaching, he turned to conducting, and was invited to conduct the New York Philharmonic in 1904. He became one of the most sought-after interpreters of Dvořák and Tchaikovsky and the Orchestra invited him to become its sole director in 1906. Safonoff conducted in most of the principal orchestras in Europe, including the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin, Vienna and Prague, the Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris, the London Symphony, and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

At the conclusion of his Philharmonic tenure, Safonoff returned to Russia and resumed his career as a pianist, teacher, and writer. 

On the occasion of the Exposition of Turin 1911, Safonoff directed three Concerti Sinfonici in the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts:

June 10, 1911: music by Beethoven, Schumann, Wagner, Mendelssohnn, Tschaikowsky.

June 13, 1911: music by Scriabin, Arensky, Metzl, Rimsky-Korsakov.

June 15, 1911: music by Beethoven, Arensky,  Schumann, Mendelssohnn, Tschaikowsky.

Roles
Performing Artists, Conductors (Musicians)