Conductor Vladislav Chernushenko passes away at 91
USSR People's Artist Vladislav Chernushenko has died in St. Petersburg at the age of 91. For over half a century, he headed the Academic Capella, which he called his home.
Feb 20, 2026 0
Vladislav Chernushenko served as the artistic director of the Academic Capella for more than five decades.
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On January 27, less than two weeks after his 90th birthday, Vladislav Chernushenko died in St. Petersburg after a serious illness. He was a USSR People«s Artist, a State Prize laureate, and the artistic director of the Academic Capella, with which he was associated his entire life.
He was the sole pupil of the celebrated conductor Evgeny Mravinsky, studying opera and symphony conducting.
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Chernushenko first crossed the threshold of the Capella over 80 years ago. In 1944, the eight-year-old boy enrolled in the Choir School at the Leningrad State Academic Capella. Before that was the siege winter, evacuation in 1942, and return to the city.
Chernushenko also served as rector of the St. Petersburg Conservatory for 23 years, from 1979 to 2002.
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«This is my home, because it so happened that I not only studied here, but after the unexpected early death of my father in 1948, I spent four and a half years here in the boarding school. Here, I was not only educated — I was clothed, shod, and given a start in life,» the conductor recounted.
He recalled his years at the school as the most important period. Chernushenko often quoted lines by Yevgeny Baratynsky: «Talent is a commission. It must be fulfilled, no matter the obstacles.»
However, he came to music by chance. «Simply, my mother saw an advertisement for enrollment in the choir school,» he explained. «In regular schools, classes had already started, and my brother and I needed to join the educational process.»
His first mentor was Pallady Bogdanov — a choir master and composer, a People«s Artist of the RSFSR. Bogdanov, in turn, was brought as a child to Mily Balakirev by the sister of Mikhail Glinka and studied under Balakirev himself, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Anatoly Lyadov, and Anton Arensky.
After returning to Leningrad, Bogdanov restored the Music and Choir School at the Capella. In 1944, he enrolled all comers to replenish the contingent. «Pallady Andreyevich enrolled everyone — just to restore the contingent. And the most astonishing thing was that this random enrollment turned out to be incredibly productive for the future of our musical culture,» Chernushenko recalled.
Studies took place in harsh conditions. «My classmates and I sat at desks in coats and hats, because the classrooms often weren»t heated,« he shared. »And there wasn«t enough space for all the students: we sat on benches, three to a bench.»
After the choir school, Chernushenko entered the Conservatory, and upon graduation, he was assigned to Magnitogorsk. There, he conducted a professional choir and taught, working from early morning until late evening. Later, he admitted that it was Magnitogorsk that shaped him.
Simultaneously, Chernushenko mastered the specialty of opera and symphony conductor, becoming the only student of Evgeny Mravinsky. The acquaintance with the maestro occurred thanks to family connections: Chernushenko«s grandfather was the orchestra manager when Mravinsky was starting at the Mariinsky Theatre.
Subsequently, Vladislav Alexandrovich worked as a conductor at the Leningrad Maly Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Symphony Orchestra of Karelian Radio and Television, and staged performances at the Opera Studio at the Conservatory.
In 1974, he headed the Academic Capella. Under his leadership, the choir reached the highest level, and Russian sacred music — works by Alexander Gretchaninov, Pavel Chesnokov, Dmitry Bortnyansky, and other composers — returned to the repertoire. In 1981, the festival «Neva Choral Assemblies» was founded, and a year later, the choir performed Sergei Rachmaninoff«s »All-Night Vigil« for the first time in half a century.
In 1991, a symphony orchestra was recreated at the Capella, headed by the conductor«s son Alexander Chernushenko. This allowed the inclusion of large-scale compositions in the programs.
From 1979 to 2002, Vladislav Chernushenko held the post of rector of the Leningrad, and then St. Petersburg Conservatory.
In recent years, the maestro expressed concern about the singing crisis in Russia. He criticized television for popularizing pop music, which, in his opinion, harms the traditions of choral singing. «When a child takes a microphone — they will never sing normally,» he asserted.
«Over half a century of service to the Capella, Vladislav Alexandrovich was able to make countless people fall in love with choral music, who wanted to hear only his art,» the institution notes.
The obituary emphasizes that Chernushenko«s name is associated with an entire era in the history of the Capella, and his contribution to national culture is priceless.
Condolences on the death of the honorary citizen of St. Petersburg were expressed by Governor Alexander Beglov.
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