On December 11, 2022, Vladislav Lavrik made his debut with the Jena Philharmonic, stepping in at short notice for the originally scheduled conductor Leo McFall.

The programme opened with Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, K. 297b, featuring soloists from the orchestra — Jörg Schneider (oboe), Christof Reiff (clarinet), Robinson Wappler (horn) and Manfred Baumgärtner (bassoon).

In the second half, Lavrik conducted Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 111 — one of the composer’s most complex and dramatically charged symphonic works.

The performance received high praise from the German press. Thüringer Allgemeine highlighted Lavrik’s ability to reveal the symphony’s dark, painful and at times absurd character from its very opening, praising the sharp contrasts of colour, rhythm and expression achieved by the conductor and orchestra.

The review particularly noted Lavrik’s interpretation of the Largo and the finale, concluding with an emphatic assessment:

“Bravo für eine Meisterleistung des Orchesters und seines Gastdirigenten!”

(“Bravo for a masterful achievement by the orchestra and its guest conductor!”)

The concert marked the beginning of Lavrik’s collaboration with the Jena Philharmonic. He was subsequently invited to return to Jena in January 2025, conducting Dvořák’s Violin Concerto with Diana Adamyan and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3.