From 1987 to 1995 Lazarev was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Theatre, the first person for over 30 years to hold both positions concurrently. His leadership marked a period of intense activity with the Bolshoi Opera, undertaking an unprecedented programme of prestigious foreign tours including La Scala, Milan; Tokyo; the Edinburgh Festival and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. He now holds the title of Conductor-in-Residence of the Bolshoi Theatre. From 1992 to 1995 Lazarev was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and, from 1997 to 2005, Principal Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In recent years he has worked as a regular guest with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the St Petersburg Philharmonic. Other orchestras he has conducted include the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestre National de France, NHK Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and Montreal Symphony, among many others. He has also appeared with opera companies such as the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Arena di Verona, Opéra Bastille, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Bavarian State Opera and Netherlands Opera. Alexander Lazarev is a prolific recording artist. In addition to his recordings with the Bolshoi for Erato, Lazarev has made over 35 recordings for Melodiya and has also recorded for Virgin Classics; with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Sony Classical; with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Hyperion and BMG; and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for BIS and Linn Records. Since 2008 he has been Principal Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. His work with the orchestra is extensively represented on Octavia Records; they are currently in the process of performing and recording the complete cycle of Prokofiev symphonies.