Since completing his masters of operatic and symphonic conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatoire in 2012, Australian conductor Vladimir Fanshil has built a richly varied career with some fantastic orchestras, including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Odessa National Philharmonic and the State Hermitage Orchestra.

In this interview, Fanshil talks about swapping the warm beaches of Bondi for the bitterly cold St Petersburg winter, studying with tough teachers in Russia, and the intersection of art, literature, poetry and music. He also talks about the differences in music culture between countries, and being based in Vienna.