Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020–2021 season. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the seasons ahead, creating extraordinary music and establishing a close relationship with the orchestra. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.

In December, Bignamini returned to Detroit to lead a triumphant performance of Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, Strauss’s Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” He returned again in May 2021 to conduct four programs including performances with violinist Midori and pianist Orli Shaham.

A native of Crema, Italy, Bignamini studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the operatic arias of legends like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Jader explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.

In the years since, Bignamini has conducted some of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras and opera companies in venues across the globe including working with Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in 2013 and his concert debut at La Scala in 2015 for the opening season of La Verdi Orchestra. Recent highlights include debuts with the Houston, Dallas, and Minnesota symphonies; Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera (Madama Butterfly); Bayerische Staatsoper (La Traviata); I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; return engagements with Oper Frankfurt (La forza del destino) and Santa Fe Opera (La Bohème); Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi; Traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot at Arena of Verona; Il Trovatoreand Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, and Manon Lescaut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Simon Boccanegra and La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; Ciro in Babilonia at Rossini Opera Festival and La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.

When Bignamini leads an orchestra in symphonic repertoire, he conducts without a score, preferring to make direct eye contact with the musicians. He conducts from the heart, forging a profound connection with his musicians that shines through both onstage and off. He both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.

Behzod Abduraimov’s performances combine an immense depth of musicality with phenomenal technique and breathtaking delicacy. He performs with renowned orchestras worldwide including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the San Francisco Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Concertgebouworkest, the Czech Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony, and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB) with prestigious conductors such as, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Gustavo Dudamel, Semyon Bychkov, Gianandrea Noseda, Juraj Valčuha, Vasily Petrenko, and Constantinos Carydis.

Abduraimov’s 2023–2024 performances include appearances with the Chicago Symphony, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the Houston Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and a tour of Spain and Belgian National Orchestra performing at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Abduraimov will also return to the Israel Philharmonic and appear with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Conductor collaborations include Osmo Vänskä, Juraj Valčuha, Constantinos Carydis, Robin Ticciati, Manfred Honeck, Yoel Levi, Han-Na Chang, Hannu Lintu, and Andris Poga.

In recital Abduraimov has appeared a number of times at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and has recently been presented by Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Toppan Hall, Tokyo, Teatro alla Scala, and La Società dei Concerti di Milano. In 2023–2024 Abduraimov will appear twice at Carnegie Hall—returning to the Stern Auditorium for a solo recital, followed by a duo recital with Daniel Lozakovich at the Weill Auditorium. The duo will present recitals elsewhere in North America including Bing Hall, Stanford, and the Vancouver Recital series. Abduraimov will also perform in recital at the Seoul Arts Centre, Shanghai Concert Hall, Amare Hall, Hague, and the Tuesday Evening Concert Series in Charlottesville. Regular festival appearances include Aspen, Verbier, Rheingau, La Roque Antheron, Lucerne, and Ravello festivals.

Abduraimov’s second recital recording for Alpha Classics will be released in March 2024 featuring works by Ravel, Prokofiev, and the Uzbek composer, Dilorom Saidaminova. 2021 saw the highly successful release of his first recital album for Alpha Classics based on a program of miniatures including Mussorgsky’sPictures at an Exhibition. In 2020 recordings included Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganiniwith the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under James Gaffigan, recorded on Rachmaninoff’s own piano from Villa Senar for Sony Classical and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Concertgebouworkest, for the RCO live label. Both recordings were nominated for the 2020 Opus Klassik awards in multiple categories. A DVD of his BBC Proms debut in 2016 with Münchner Philharmoniker was released in 2018. His 2012 debut CD of Liszt, Saint- Saëns, and Prokofiev for Decca won the Choc de Classica and Diapason Découverte and his first concerto disc for the label featured Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Abduraimov began the piano aged five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent. In 2009, he won first prize at the London International Piano Competition with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. He studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University, Missouri, where he is Artist-in-Residence.