Lev Zhuravsky was born in the year 2000 in the city of Saint Petersburg. He successfully completed his studies at the Special Music School affiliated with the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, where he studied in the class of instructor Grigory Maliyov. Commencing in the year 2019, he has served as a soloist with the orchestra of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. In the year 2023, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, where he was in the class of Associate Professor Grigory Maliyov. In the year 2025, he completed his postgraduate performance traineeship under the guidance of the same instructor. Beginning in 2025, he has been a student at the Basel Academy of Music, studying in the class of François Benda. In the year 2016, he became the recipient of the Grand Prix at the Second International Open Competition for Woodwind and Brass Instrument Performers "Peter’s Fanfares", held in Saint Petersburg, and was additionally awarded the Second Prize at the Third International Competition "Weber-Clarinet", held in Petrozavodsk. In the year 2018, he was the winner of the Second International Competition-Festival for Young Performers on Wind and Percussion Instruments named after the Gnesins, which took place in Moscow. The year 2019 saw him as the winner of the First International Competition-Festival of Clarinettists "Happy Birthday, Maestro!", held in Moscow, and furthermore, the recipient of a special prize at the International Leoš Janáček Competition in Brno, Czech Republic. In the year 2021, he was the winner of the Fourth International Competition "Weber-Clarinet", held in Petrozavodsk. The year 2022 brought him the Fourth Prize at the AEOLUS International Competition for Wind Instruments in Düsseldorf and the Third Prize at the Thirteenth International Competition of the Moscow Conservatory for Performers on Wind and Percussion Instruments. In the year 2023, he became a laureate, receiving the Third Prize at the Seventeenth International Tchaikovsky Competition, held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In the year 2024, he was a recipient of the Third Prize at the ARD International Music Competition as a member of the "Nevsky Wind Quintet". In the year 2025, he was awarded the Third Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. He has performed in various halls throughout Saint Petersburg, including, among others, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, and the Capella. He has undertaken performance tours in the Netherlands and in Switzerland. In September 2018, he participated in a performance tour across Asia as a member of the All-Russian Youth Orchestra under the conductorship of Yuri Bashmet. He has been a soloist of the Saint Petersburg Music House commencing in the year 2017.

Saint Petersburg Music House (SPMH): Within your musically inclined family, there were no wind instruments present. How did it eventually transpire that you made the specific choice of the clarinet?
Lev Zhuravsky: My mother, Zoya Zhuravskaya, is a choirmaster. My father is the mandolinist, guitarist, and conductor known as Alexander Zhuravsky. My father spent his formative years growing up in the small maritime town known as Baltiysk, a location in which not a particularly large number of individuals were engaged in the pursuit of music. Nevertheless, within that town, there happened to be found a single, unique musician and enthusiast, an individual who skillfully played the clarinet, the saxophone, and the guitar – his name was Vladimir Sergienko. It was from this individual that my father received his guitar lessons, and he also maintained a very close friendship with him. This Mr. Sergienko possessed an extensive collection of records, which featured a wide variety of contemporary jazz music. It was precisely at that time, and under those circumstances, that my father became profoundly impressed by the sound produced by the clarinet. At a later period, during his time attending the institute, he, in addition to continuing with the guitar, also took up playing both the trumpet and the French horn. Consequently, it could be said that the eventual selection of the clarinet was simply a matter of time!

SPMH: What was your very first experience of appearing upon a major stage like? At what particular moment did the feeling come to you that you were no longer simply a student, but had, in fact, already become an artist?
Lev Zhuravsky: The very first appearances onto the stage are all, I would suppose, somewhat similar to one another. I was ten years of age at the time; the period of waiting in anticipation of my turn to perform had left me feeling quite exhausted, and so I was simply enjoying myself and socializing with the other individuals who were participating in the concert. Upon actually walking out onto the stage, however, I came to the abrupt realization that I had entirely forgotten how the piece of music was supposed to begin, and I found it necessary to peek over at the sheet music belonging to my accompanist... Having traversed a particularly long path filled with a variety of different setbacks and successes, I finally felt that I was genuinely liberated for the purpose of creative expression, I suppose, not until the year 2021. This specific event took place during a concert performance presented by the Saint Petersburg Music House in the city of Tula. I was performing on stage with the orchestra, playing my much-loved Second Concerto by Louis Spohr, and I found myself permitting such liberties in my playing, the kind of which I would certainly never have allowed myself during a formal school examination. And in that moment, I thought to myself: "Why should I not put forward my own personal interpretation, right here in Tula?".

SPMH: In this current year, you have successfully completed your postgraduate performance traineeship at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and have subsequently become a student at the Basel Academy of Music. Is such a continuous process of education something that is particularly important for a musician? And at what specific point in time can an artist forget about occupying the role of a student?
Lev Zhuravsky: I think that having a good teacher is something that is exceptionally important... That person is responsible for shaping you, both from an aesthetic standpoint and also as an individual personality. In the contrary case, were one to attempt to traverse the musician's path entirely on one's own, it would be extremely easy to become completely and thoroughly lost. It seems to me that following the completion of my studies in Basel, I will indeed step out of the role of a student; however, it is a role that one should never forget! It appears to me that we are learning continuously from everything that constitutes our environment, and I, for one particular example, also consider myself to be a student of my colleagues, both those within my ensemble and those with whom I work.

SPMH: Have you perceived a difference in the educational approach between your studies in Russia and those in Switzerland?
Lev Zhuravsky: As of this moment, I have only been pursuing my studies in Switzerland for a duration of one month. Here in Basel, there exists what is historically a very formidable school of performance practice. A significant amount of attention is dedicated here to the finer details – such as phrasing, the precise beginning and ending of a sound, and the overall timbre. This, without any question, proves to be extremely beneficial when one desires to, in a manner of speaking, "polish" one's established level of mastery. However, it is my observation (and this is, of course, my own subjective opinion) that there is comparatively less concern shown for the student as a whole, individual person here. Back in Saint Petersburg, within the class environment maintained by my instructor, Grigory Leonidovich Maliyov, it was always the custom to exhibit genuine concern and to care for each individual student as if they were a close, personal relation; there was a certain, demonstrably warmer and more closely-knit atmosphere to be found in the class. But, most assuredly, Professor François Benda also maintains a strong and amicable class, and it is one in which I am very glad to find myself at this present time.

SPMH: In September, you became a laureate of the extremely prestigious international ARD Competition. Was the path that led to this victory a challenging one?
Lev Zhuravsky: You know, I found myself possessing an incredible amount of motivation to prepare for this particular competition. It is situated perfectly within the calendar – taking place in September, immediately following the August vacation period. Just as occurred in the previous year with the quintet, during this past August, I dedicated myself to practicing every single day, arriving at the very same rehearsal room and spending nearly the entire duration of the day there. I would regularly depart to return home well after darkness had fallen. While I was there, I maintained a clearly structured schedule, and I enjoyed this process of preparation, a time when, with each passing day, one feels as though one is drawing progressively closer to the ultimate objective.

SPMH: In the preceding year, you also became a laureate at the ARD Competition, performing as a member of a wind quintet. Could you please tell us something about that success? Did it serve as the inspiration for you to submit an application as a soloist?
Lev Zhuravsky: But of course, every single success provides a great deal of inspiration. It is easy, at some moment, to fall into despair, driven by the feeling that one's dedicated efforts are not receiving recognition. Our collective experience at the ARD Competition as a quintet served as a powerful inspiration for all five of us; it genuinely represented the beginning of a new chapter, that moment when you come to the full realization that you are, in fact, sufficiently skilled to be able to perform at such a high level. As for submitting an application for the solo category, I truly held no doubts whatsoever and, to be honest, I have generally always been quite bold in submitting applications for any competitions. I did so in the year 2019 for the previous ARD Competition, and in 2018 for the Geneva Competition. Why should one not present oneself with an extraordinary challenge?

SPMH: In your opinion, do the sanctions imposed in the cultural sphere in the West have not managed to affect the world of competitions?
Lev Zhuravsky: Thank goodness, classical music still remains a more niche field within the domain of culture and, owing to this fact, it is touched to a much lesser extent by political struggles. This is not at all like the situation in sports, where teams representing our country are prohibited from being admitted to competitions or are stripped of medals they have legitimately earned. I truly hope that this small island will continue to exist and will persist in uniting musicians from all the countries of the world.

SPMH: What are your memories of the Tchaikovsky Competition in the year 2023, where you also became a laureate?
Lev Zhuravsky: Wonderfully fragrant, and exceptionally fresh, much like the air in Repino! It did not feel like a competition, but rather a genuine trip to a health resort! Well, of course, concentrating, and also experiencing a considerable amount of nerves, were necessary components as well.

SPMH: During November, as part of the projects undertaken by the Saint Petersburg Music House, during concert performances scheduled in Kislovodsk and Krasnoyarsk, you are performing music by Eibler and Weber. In what manner did the music of these composers first enter into your life? What particular imagery or concepts do you find to be the most personally resonant?
Lev Zhuravsky: I am exceptionally pleased that I have been afforded the opportunity to perform the Concerto by Joseph Eibler. He was a pupil of Mozart and, it would seem, he even undertook the completion of certain of his compositions. This Concerto is, without any question, a work of exceptional talent, and it clearly bears the distinct echoes of his great master. This Concerto is practically never performed, and there exists only a single recording of it. At least, for the time being. As for Weber – he truly represents the alpha and the omega for any clarinetist... We typically commence our studies with his Variations, op. 33, we then proceed onward to the Concertino, followed by the First Concerto, the Grand Duo Concertant, and, ultimately, we arrive at the Second Concerto, which is the very piece we are intending to perform with the Krasnoyarsk Symphony Orchestra.

SPMH: What proportion of your total solo performance engagements do the projects by the Saint Petersburg Music House currently account for? In what specific manner would you wish to see this collaboration develop in the future?
Lev Zhuravsky: It is quite difficult to calculate the sheer quantity of fascinating chamber and symphonic music that I have had the opportunity to perform as part of the programs of the Saint Petersburg Music House. I think that, were it not for the entirety of this experience, none of the laureate titles would likely have come to be. This is primarily because, when one already has dozens of performances with an orchestra under one's belt, this provides strength when competing in the final round of a major competition. I must express my profound gratitude to the Saint Petersburg Music House for making this possible! And as for developing our collaboration further – I would very much like to perform music that involves a variety of instrumental combinations. For instance, presenting a chamber concert featuring a quintet, or perhaps performing a duet with a full orchestra – there exists such a vast amount of interesting music that I would be eager to perform!

Interview by Tatyana Mikhailova