Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov (Russian: Владимир Теодорович Спиваков) (born September 12, 1944 in Ufa) is a leading Russian conductor and violinist best known for his work with the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra. At the age of 13, Spivakov was awarded the first prize at the major conductor contest in Moscow. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Yuri Yankelevich and debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1979. The same year he established the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra. In 1984, Leonard Bernstein presented his conductor's baton to Spivakov. In 1989 he emigrated to Spain. Spivakov was named the People's Artist of the USSR in 1991. Three years later, he established the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation to help Russian orphans. In 2000 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur for his work as an artistic director of the Colmar International Festival, for which he has worked since 1989. His wife Sati is a TV anchor. He has three daughters, Tatiana, Katia and Anna. Spivakov is also considered one of the foremost violinists of his generation, having studied with Yuri Yankelevich at the Moscow Conservatory. He was a prizewinner at several competitions in Moscow, Paris, Genoa, and Montreal. Spivakov currently serves as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the National Philharmonic of Russia. He conducted the music for Garri Bardin's 2010 animated feature, The Ugly Duckling. In March 2014 he signed a letter in support of the position of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. May 11, 2014 in Cambridge (USA), after the concert of the Moscow Virtuosi running by Spivakov, a graduate of Harvard University, Dr. Roman Torgovitskiy got up on stage and eloquently "thanked" Spivakov for the fact that he signed the letter. May 18, 2014 in front of the Lincoln Center in New York, where should be take place a concert of the Moscow Virtuosi, there were about a hundred protesters who demanded from him as one of the signatories of this letter, to "get out".
