This week, Kirill Karabits will give his debut at the Ravinia Festival in his debut performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Joined by pianist Paul Lewis, Kirill will conduct Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 in G major as well as Prokofiev’s Symphony No.5

In an interview earlier this year, Kirill talked about how he approaches working with an orchestra for the first time, saying: "In the first rehearsal I will probably just run the symphony from the beginning to the end. I need to hear how the orchestra react and what sound they offer without me telling them how to play ... Orchestras of that level are technically very advanced and react very quickly so it’s a rather delicate, refined communication which is not about learning notes – you have to show musicians the reason why you are standing there in the first place." Read the full interview – Kirill Karabits on his journey this far, his plans for the future, and the importance of his homeland – here. The remainder of the 15/16 season sees Kirill return to the Edinburgh International Festival to conduct two different programmes including Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Scriabin, with the Russian National Orchestra on 20 and 21 August. Kirill conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival on Friday 5 August at 8pm. Find out more on the festival's website.