Recognised for his clarity, versatility, and thoughtful musical leadership, Gustavo Gimeno has distinguished himself with orchestras and in opera. Music Director of Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2020/21, Gimeno recommitted to the orchestra through the 2029/30 season. 2025/26 is his inaugural season as Music Director of Madrid’s Teatro Real. 

During the 2025/26 season, Gimeno and Toronto Symphony Orchestra present an impressive line-up of world-renowned soloists, including Lang Lang, Javier Perianes, Denis Kozhukhin, Pablo Ferrández, Abel Selaocoe, Anoushka Shankar, and Maria Dueñas. The repertoire features notable new commissions alongside classic masterpieces. The season opens with Orff’s monumental Carmina Burana, followed by performances of Beethoven’s Symphonies No.6, 8 and 9, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, Prokofiev’s Symphonies No.3 and 5, Mahler’s Symphony No.9, Coll’s Lilith Symphony, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.4 throughout the season. Highlighting their international presence, Gimeno and the orchestra embark on a tour to Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Germany, sharing the stage with soloists Bruce Liu, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, and Anna Prohaska.

This season at Teatro Real, Gimeno conducts two productions: Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and The Miraculous Mandarin, directed by Christof Loy, as well as a new staging of Smetana’s Bartered Bride, directed by Laurent Pelly. In the 2024/25 season, he led a highly successful new production of Eugene Onegin and performed in concerts with Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid as they celebrated their 120th anniversary.

He is much sought-after as a guest conductor worldwide. This season, he debuts with the New York Philharmonic, conducting Dvorak’s New World Symphony and sharing the stage with Helene Grimaud and returns to the Los  Angeles Philharmonic with Sibelius Symphony No.1 and soloist Renaud Capuçon. Recent highlights include appearance with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra. As an opera conductor, he has conducted major titles at great houses such as the Liceu Opera Barcelona, Opernhaus Zürich and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia.

Building on his relationship with Harmonia Mundi, in February 2025, Gimeno and the TSO released their second album together, featuring Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Divertimento as well as the world premiere recording of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark. Their first album for the label released to critical acclaim in February 2024 featuring Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie won the JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) in 2025.

Gimeno served as Music Director of the Luxembourg Philharmonic for a decade, beginning with the 2015/16 season. During this tenure, Gimeno and Luxembourg Philharmonic have visited many of Europe's, South Korea's and South America’s most prestigious concert halls. Soloists with whom Gimeno shared the stage include Daniel Barenboim, Gautier Capuçon, Anja Harteros, Leonidas Kavakos, Bryn Terfel and Martin Grubinger. A highlight has been performances of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos with Krystian Zimerman. Gimeno and Luxembourg Philharmonic developed an extensive discography with Pentatone, featuring releases such as a Francisco Coll monography with the Violin Concerto performed by Patricia Kopatchinskaja, as well as recordings of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Ravel’s complete ballet music to Daphnis et Chloé, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle. Other repertoire recorded for Harmonia Mundi, include Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and Stravinsky’s ballets The Firebird and Apollon musagète and Henri Dutilleux album with cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.

In March 2025, Gimeno was appointed a Commander of the Order of Civil Merit by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain. This prestigious honour recognises his role in elevating Spanish culture internationally, his extraordinary contributions to classical music, and his influence on the global cultural landscape. Following his tenure with the Luxembourg Philharmonic, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg conferred Gimeno an Officer in the Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau. 

‘It takes only a handful of bars into Romeo and Juliet’s opening ‘Folk Dance’ to recognise that we are listening to a pianist who simply transcends his instrument.’ – Gramophone

Behzod Abduraimov’s performances combine an immense depth of musicality with phenomenal technique and delicacy. He performs with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, and his critically acclaimed recordings have set a new standard for the piano repertoire.

Behzod has a number of notable debuts in the 2025/26 season including with the New York Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), both with Gianandrea Noseda. Other concerto performances include Houston and Pittsburgh Symphonies as well as Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Frankfurt Opern- und Museumsorchester and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Recital highlights this season include his fourth solo recital at Carnegie Hall’s Stern auditorium, a return to the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London as well as other appearances in the USA and Europe, including the Scherzo series in Madrid. He has performed in many of the most important international recital series presented by Alte Oper Frankfurt, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, CAL Performances (Berkeley, California), La Società dei Concerti di Milano, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seoul Arts Centre, Shanghai Concert Hall, Toppan Hall (Tokyo). He regularly appears at the leading international festivals including Aspen, La Roque Antheron, Lucerne, Ravello, Rheingau, and Verbier. In September 2025, he opened the Tsanandali Festival with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 at the invitation of Gianandrea Noseda and also gave two chamber music concerts.

Behzod has performed with leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, Czech Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, San Francisco Symphony and Wiener Symphoniker. Conductor collaborations include Semyon Bychkov, Constantinos Carydis, Gustavo Dudamel, Edward Gardner, Gustavo Gimeno, Jakub Hrůša, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Vasily Petrenko, Aziz Shokhakimov, Juraj Valčuha, and Long Yu.

Behzod’s critically acclaimed recordings have won numerous international awards including the Choc de Classica and Diapason Découverte. He records for Alpha Classics. Shadows of My Ancestors, his second recital recording for Alpha Classics released in January 2024, features works by Ravel, Prokofiev, and Uzbek composer Dilorom Saidaminova. It was recognized as a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, shortlisted for a Gramophone Award, and named one of Apple Music’s ‘10 Classical Albums You Must Hear This Month’. His first recital album for Alpha Classics in 2021 includes Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In 2020, two of his albums were nominated for the 2020 Opus Klassik awards in multiple categories: Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under James Gaffigan, recorded on the composer’s own piano from Villa Senar for Sony Classical, and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 with Concertgebouw Orchestra, for the RCO live label.

Behzod’s recitals have been streamed and broadcast on international channels, including medici.tv, and a DVD of his 2016 BBC Proms debut (2016) with the Münchner Philharmoniker was released in 2018.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Behzod began playing 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 is Artist-in-Residence at the International Center for Music at Park University where he studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch.