MOSCOW, August 14 Conductor Ivan Nikiforchin became artistic director of the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra (MSASO), replacing People's Artist of the Russian Federation, violinist and conductor Pavel Kogan, said Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova.
“Ivan Nikiforchin, a laureate of the First International Competition of Pianists, Composers and Conductors named after S.V. Rachmaninov, has been appointed the new artistic director of one of the oldest symphony orchestras in Russia,” says the minister’s Telegram channel. 
The head of the department wished the new artistic director success, noting that he had performed with the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions and had collaborated with many of the country's leading orchestral groups over the past few years.
Nikiforchin is the founder, artistic director and chief conductor of the Academy of Russian Music, which unites a chamber orchestra and a choir. He performs with the country's leading orchestral groups.
The Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra was founded in April 1943. Its first director was the conductor of the Bolshoi Theater, People's Artist of the USSR Lev Steinberg. Over the years, the orchestra has been led by such renowned musicians as Nikolai Anosov, Leo Ginzburg, Mikhail Terian, Veronika Dudarova and Pavel Kogan.