He studied at the Leningrad School for Talented Children and the Leningrad Conservatory, and after winning the All-Soviet Conducting Competition in 1966 toured Europe and the USA with David Oistrakh and the Moscow Philharmonic.
He made his debut with the SPPO in 1967, then joined the orchestra as Assistant Conductor to Yevgeny Mravinsky. In 1968 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until his appointment as Music Director of the Kirov Opera and Ballet (now the Mariinsky Theatre) in 1976.
Maestro Temirkanov has appeared with leading European orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and La Scala, Milan.
In 1979 he was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and was then Principal Conductor from 1992-1998. Other positions include Principal Guest Conductor, Dresden Philharmonic (1992-1997); Principal Guest Conductor, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (1998-2008); Music Director, Baltimore Symphony (2000-2006); Principal Guest Conductor, Bolshoi Theatre (until 2009), and Music Director, Teatro Regio di Parma (2010-2012).
Recordings include collaborations with the SPPO, New York Philharmonic, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the RPO.
For 12 days over Christmas Maestro Temirkanov hosts the annual International Winter Festival Arts Square in St Petersburg.
Awards include the Order For Merit for the Country in all four degrees; the Abbiati Prize for Best Conductor (2003, 2007); Conductor of the Year (Italy, 2003); Honorary Academician of Santa Cecilia; Commander of the Order of the Star of Italy (2012); the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize (2014); the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan, 2015); Una vita nella musica Prize (Italy), and Honorary Conductor of the A
