Established as one of the world’s leading flute soloists, Denis Bouriakov was the winner of the 2009 Prague Spring competition and a prize winner at most major international flute competitions, including the Nielsen, Rampal, Kobe, Munich ARD, Nicolet, Larrieu, and others. He is currently the Principal Flutist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, appointed by Gustavo Dudamel in 2015, and previously served as Principal Flute of the Metropolitan Opera in New York under James Levine. Throughout his career, Denis has combined his orchestral positions with an active international solo career, regularly performing concertos and recitals around the world. As a soloist, he has collaborated with prominent conductors including Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Gustavo Dudamel, and Manfred Honeck, and has performed concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, musicians of the New York Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Odense Symphony, Hiroshima Symphony, Liszt Chamber Orchestra, and other leading ensembles internationally. Since 2008, Denis has given annual recital tours in Japan, performing more than 100 recitals throughout the country, often in collaboration with his longtime pianist partner, Naoko Ishibashi.
With his phenomenal virtuoso technique and musicianship, Denis looks beyond the standard flute repertoire for works that allow the flute to shine, continually transcribing and performing violin concertos and sonatas and expanding the limits of flute technique and artistry. A number of his arrangements have been published by Theodore Presser, with several more currently in preparation, while some are also available as free downloads on his website.
Denis’s discography reflects his distinctive approach to the instrument. His first solo CD, featuring the Bach Chaconne, Sibelius Violin Concerto, and other daring original arrangements, was released in 2009 and was followed by a number of other solo albums. His recordings include CDs with Naoko Ishibashi and other pianists, a flute and harp CD with Emmanuel Ceysson, and a recording with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. The latter remains forthcoming, featuring Romantic-era violin and flute concertos including the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. His most recent recording project features live performances from his recitals in Japan over the past two years. In addition to his commercially released recordings, Denis has published hundreds of videos of professionally recorded live performances from recitals and concertos on his YouTube and Instagram channels.
Denis is a Visiting Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London, his alma mater, where he studied with Professor William Bennett, OBE. The Academy previously awarded him the prestigious titles of Associate and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2006 and 2014, respectively. He leads masterclasses for conservatories and universities worldwide and has taught extensively in Europe, Asia, the USA, and Australia. He was appointed Guest Professor at Elizabeth University in Hiroshima, Japan, and has served on the faculty of the Verbier Festival in Switzerland and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, both of which he participated in as a student.
In addition to his teaching and performing activities, Denis has been invited to adjudicate numerous international competitions. In 2019, he was appointed chairman of the woodwind jury by Valery Gergiev for the prestigious XVI Tchaikovsky International Competition, and in 2023 he served on the jury of the Geneva International Music Competition.
Denis was born in Simferopol, Crimea, and was a prodigy flutist from a young age. At the age of 9, he was admitted to the Moscow Central Special School, where he studied with the famous Professor Y.N. Dolzhikov, the only French-trained professor in the USSR. With the support of the “New Names” International Charity Foundation and the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation, Denis, by age 16, toured as a young soloist in over 20 countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and the USA, performing for Pope John Paul II, Prince Michael of Kent, and the presidents of Russia, Romania, and Indonesia.
At the age of 18, Denis moved to London to attend the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Professor William Bennett, OBE. While studying in London, he competed internationally and freelanced as Principal Flute with the Philharmonia, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera North in Leeds, and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2005, he won his first full-time orchestral position as Principal Flute of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland, where he also taught at the Tampere Conservatory of Music. In 2008, Denis moved to Spain to become Principal Flute of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra under Eiji Oue. Later that year, he won the position of Principal Flute of the Metropolitan Opera in New York and has resided in the United States since 2009. He has also performed as Guest Principal Flute with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
His recent and upcoming engagements include concertos, recitals, and masterclasses throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Denis is an Altus Artist and has played Altus PS model flutes since 2001