Stanislav Kochanovsky, Chief Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover since the 2024/25 season, is recognized as one of the most refined and insightful conductors of his generation. With a distinctive interpretative voice and a natural authority on the podium, he brings together musical depth, stylistic clarity, and a sincere respect for orchestral collaboration.

Equally at home in symphonic and operatic repertoire, he has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Oslo Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonie, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Cleveland Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra in London, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, among others.

In the operatic field, he has conducted over thirty works, including The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin at Opernhaus Zürich, Iolanta at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Prince Igor at Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. His interpretations often emerge from close collaboration with visionary stage directors and a deep understanding of vocal nuance.
Since 2017, he has been a regular guest at the Verbier Festival, conducting both concert performances of operas - such as Eugene Onegin, Rigoletto, Hänsel und Gretel, and Die Zauberflöte - and symphonic programs with soloists such as Lucas Debargue and Mikhail Pletnev.

While firmly rooted in the classical and romantic repertoire, Kochanovsky is also known for his curiosity toward lesser-known works and contemporary music. His repertoire includes Ligeti’s Requiem, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Scriabin-Nemtin’s Mysterium, Weinberg’s Symphony No. 21 “Kaddish”, and recent compositions by Brett Dean, Andrea Tarrodi, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Giovanni Sollima, and others.

As Chief Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie, he embraces his role with integrity and artistic vision. Kochanovsky leads with a deep sense of purpose, believing that musical excellence, consistency, and authenticity are the most powerful ways to inspire audiences and serve the orchestra’s broader mission in today's cultural landscape.

In the 2025/26 season, he continues his close relationship with the NDR Radiophilharmonie through major touring, recording and artistic projects, and returns to conduct orchestras such as the DR Danish National Symphony, the NDR ElbPhilharmonie, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, the CBSO in Birmingham, the ONB in Brussels, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie on tour at the ElbPhilharmonie and Wiener Konzerthaus, alongside new debuts with the Finnish Radio Symphony and the Orchestre National de Radio France.

In March 2025, the first in a cycle of recordings for Harmonia Mundi was released, featuring Kochanovsky with his NDR Radiophilharmonie. He has chosen to explore a repertoire he knows intimately: the hidden gems of the great Russian repertoire of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century. The first release, dedicated to Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, was selected as one of Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice for May 2025 and included in their list of “The Best Classical Albums of 2025 (So Far)”.

A graduate of the Glinka Choir School and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, where he studied choral conducting, organ, and opera-symphonic conducting, Kochanovsky began his career at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and served as Chief Conductor of the State Safonov Philharmonic. Early on, he gained remarkable experience conducting over sixty opera and ballet productions before the age of 25. In the course of his career, he has also conducted the major orchestras of his native country, including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the Moscow Philharmonic and the Mariinsky Orchestra.