Born in Moscow in 1949, Karajan began conducting while studying at the Moscow Conservatory under the tutelage of choral music authority Boris Kulikov. In 1975, he formed the Russian State Chamber Choir, which won the Guido D'Arezzo International Choral Competition, becoming the first Russian group to do so, and also won a special prize and the best conductor award. Since then, he has been nicknamed "Choral Karajan" and "Red Karajan." At the same time, he served as the conductor of the Moscow Operetta Theatre, and learned conducting from Gennady Rozhdestvensky, gaining experience in many opera productions at the Bolshoi Theatre and elsewhere.
In 1992, at the request of Rozhdestvensky, he became Music Director of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, which was renamed the former Soviet State Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, and was invited to tour all over the world, with each tour being a great success. His unique technique of making full use of the highly refined pianissimo has earned him high praise as one of Russia's most talented conductors. He has also recorded works by various composers, including Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Glazunov, and Taneyev, including choral works, on the Chandos label, and all of his performances have been highly praised.
He was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia in 1996, and has been the chief conductor of the Gothenburg Music Festival since 2002. He is a professor at the Moscow Conservatory and president of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition. In 2015, he made his first visit to Japan with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, and received rave reviews, including high praise from audiences and critics, for his performance of Tchaikovsky's three great symphonies, Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, and 6. In 2017, he returned to Japan with the orchestra, and was again a great success at various venues, including Suntory Hall. He is scheduled to tour Japan again in July 2019, and will perform as a guest with the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra in December, continuing to attract attention.