Yuri Simonov studied at the Leningrad Conservatoire with Rabinovich, and assisted Mravinksy at the Leningrad Conservatoire conducting The Mermaid by Dargomizhsky. Following first prize in the Saint Cecilia Conductors Competition in Rome in 1968, he was invited to make his debut at the Bolshoi Opera (Aïda) in 1969 and was almost immediately appointed Chief Conductor--the youngest in history, and, with his appointment ending in 1985, also the longest-serving. He has recorded for Melodia with the Bolshoi Company, for Collins Classics with the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic, and for Philharmonia with the Royal Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.