Conductors concert season 2019/20

Olari Elts

Olari Elts (born April 27, 1971 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian conductor. He was the principal conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2006. He is the founder and director of the contemporary music ensemble NYYD Ensemble.

In September 2006 he took up the newly created position of Artistic Advisor of the Orchestre de Bretagne. He was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. Also in 2007, he was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

Elts has conducted Finnish Radio, Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Sinfoniker, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lucerne Symphony, Orchestre National du Capitole de Touloluse, City of Birmingham Symphony, Ensemble Modern and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, with whom he made his US debut. He also visits Australia and New Zealand regularly, appearing with orchestras including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Western Australian Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Elts’s opera work includes appearances with the Estonian National Opera, conducting Britten's Albert Herring and Puccini’s Il Trittico, as well as Mozart’s Don Giovanniand Idomeneo with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. In autumn 2008 he conducted performances of Marschner's Der Vampyr at the Rennes Opera House, and also in Hungary.

In 2001 Elts was awarded the IVth Class Order of the White Star by Estonia in recognition for his outstanding contribution to music.

Source: Wikipedia

Johannes Schlaefli

Johannes Schlaefli is currently Music Director of the Mannheim Chamber Orchestra, Music Director of the symphony orchestra Collegium Musicum in Basel and Professor for Orchestral Conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts.

As one of the most highly sought after conducting teachers, Schlaefli is in demand throughout the world and collaborates with institutions including the Sibelius Academy Helinski, Juilliard School New York, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and also serves as “head of teaching” at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival Conducting Academy.  As a guest professor, he has taught throughout Europe at the Music Universities of Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg and Manchester. Furthermore, a regular co-operation as a lecturer and juror also links him to the prestigious “Dirigentenforum” of the German Music Council.

Prior to his position as Music Director in Mannheim, Schlaefli also held posts with the chamber orchestra Basel as well as the Bern Chamber Orchestra. Presently, he also leads the Alumni-Sinfonieorchester Zürich and the Academic Chamber Orchestra Zürich.  As a guest conductor, he has performed with and conducted orchestras including the Tonhalleorchester Zürich, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Orchestra,  Munich Radio Orchestra and Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana to name a few.

Source: https://johannesschlaefli.com

Marc Kissóczy

Internationally recognized as a conductor of extraordinary versatility, musicality and discernment, Marc Kissóczy has led performances of symphonic music, contemporary ensembles, opera, operetta and Symphonic Pops to equal acclaim.

Mr. Kissóczy has been Music Director and Principal Conductor of Zurich Youth Symphony Orchestra from 1996 to 2002. From 2002 to 2009, he was appointed Music Director of and Conductor of the highly renowned Camerata Zurich, a professional chamber orchestra with a large tradition and a strong commitment to contemporary music.

In addition to his work in opera and operetta, Mr. Kissóczy has enjoyed great success on the concert stage. He has conducted the Zurich Tonhalle and Zurcher Kammerorchester, the Basel and Berne Symphony Orchestras, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Orchester des Saarlaendischen Rundfunks, Slowenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Orquestra Municipal do Sao Paulo, Taipei Sinfonietta, Ensemble Intercontemporain Paris and many other orchestras in France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Finland, Brazil, Taiwan and other countries.

Marc Kissóczy has conducted a variety of Pops productions over the years including the traditional and prestigious New Years Concerts with the Aargau Symphony Orchestra and has achieved considerable success conducting operas, operettas, Pops and Children’s Concerts, film soundtracks and contemporary music. He led many premieres and his concerts are being broadcast on radio and TV stations in Europe, Asia and South America.

Since 1996 he is on the faculty of the Musikhochschule (Music Academy) at the University of the Arts in Zurich; since 2005 as professor of orchestral conducting and is Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Camerata Zurich. Since 2011 he also leads a conducting class at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana.

Marc Kissóczy, born 1961 in Canada to Hungarian-Swiss parents, studied Violin and Conducting at the Music Academies of Zurich, Basel and Berne (Switzerland) and graduated with highest honours. At the Pierre Monteux School in Maine, USA, he completed his studies in conducting and won thereafter a number of national and international prizes, among them at the prestigious “Ernest Ansermet” Competition in Geneva (1994) where he was a standing member and also president of the jury in the following years. Further studies took him to the Tanglewood Music Centre, to Sergiu Celibidache, Pierre Boulez and others. The critics repeatedly acclaim his outstanding musicality and sensitivity, his expressiveness and precise conducting technique.

In 1999, the government of Vietnam has awarded Marc Kissóczy the highest medal of culture in recognition of his merits in restoration of the musical life in Vietnam working very extensively with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra. He is frequently asked as member of the jury at national and international competitions.

Marc Kissóczy

Pierre-André Valade

Pierre-André Valade was born in Corrèze, France in 1959. In 1991 he co-founded the Paris based Ensemble Court-Circuit of which he was Music Director for 16 years until 2008. He was Principal Conductor of Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen from 2009 to 2014. He currently has an active career as a guest conductor whilst continuing his relationship with Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen as a regular guest conductor. He was also appointed Principal Guest Conductor of Lyon based Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain in 2013 and has held the position of Conductor in Residence at the Meitar Ensemble in Tel-Aviv since 2014.
He is especially admired for his performances of repertoire from the 20th and 21st centuries, and receives regular invitations from major festivals and orchestras in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Of his many recordings, Grisey’s Les Espaces Acoustiques has been singled out for particular praise and won both the Diapason d’or de l’année 1999 and the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros, which he won again in 2008 for three other recordings. His more recent CDs include works by Hugues Dufourt (winner Diapason d’Or and Choc du Monde de la Musique), and Harrison Birtwistle’s Theseus Game for Deutsche Grammophon, a piece he premiered in Duisburg and conducted at the Southbank Centre, BBC Proms, Huddersfield Festival, Lucerne International Festival and in Berlin.
Current and future highlights include his debut with La Scala Orchestra in Milan as well as a collaboration with L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in the 14/15 season. Last year, he conducted several concerts as a tribute to Witold Lutosławski, including a concert with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra which was chosen to be published on the CD of the Lutosławski Jubilee Concerts.
A regular guest conductor with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, other orchestras include BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Philharmonia, Ulster, RTE National Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Göteborgs Symfoniker, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Norrbotten NEO, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de Paris, Saarbrucken Radio Symphony, Athens State Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra della RAI Torino, Accademia Nationale di Santa Cecilia Rome, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova, Ensemble Intercontemporain, London Sinfonietta, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Bit 20, Bodo Sinfonietta, Contrechamps Geneve, the Asko Schoenberg Ensemble, I Pomeriggi Musicale, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony and the Philharmonia’s Music of Today series and Ensemble Modern.
He conducted his BBC Proms debut in 2001, and has also appeared at the Aldeburgh, Bath International, Holland, Strasbourg Musica, Oslo Ultima, Monte Carlo Le Printemps des Arts, Nice Manca, Paris Ircam Agora, Radio-France Présences, Perth and Sydney festivals.
In January 2001 he was awarded Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture.
Pierre-André Valade

Michael Wendeberg

Im Alter von fünf Jahren erhielt Michael Wendeberg seinen ersten Klavierunterricht und gewann erste Bundespreise beim Wettbewerb Jugend musiziert. Ab 1994 folgte ein Klavierstudium bei Jürgen Uhde, Markus Stange, Bernd Glemser und Benedetto Lupo. Wendeberg debütierte beim Lucerne Festival, in der Carnegie Hall und bei den Salzburger Festspielen. Auch trat er als Solist mit den Bamberger Symphonikern, den Radiosinfonieorchestern des NDR, WDR, HR und SWR sowie den Berliner Philharmonikern auf, unter den Dirigenten Jonathan Nott und Sir Simon Rattle. Zu seinen Kammermusikpartnern gehören Laurent Korcia, mit dem er mehrere CDs aufgenommen hat, und Nicolas Hodges. Von 2000 bis 2005 gehörte Wendeberg als Pianist dem Ensemble intercontemporain an, wo er intensiv mit Pierre Boulez arbeitete. Anlässlich Boulez' 90. Geburtstags im März 2015 war er mit dessen gesamtem Klavierwerk im Schillertheater Berlin zu hören.

Ab 2005 studierte Michael Wendeberg Orchesterleitung in der Meisterklasse des Dirigenten Toshiyuki Kamioka in Saarbrücken.

Als Dirigent arbeitete er mit der Staatskapelle Berlin (vor allem regelmäßig mit Mozarts Zauberflöte), dem WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Klangforum Wien, Sinfonietta Basel, Remix Ensemble Porto, den Neuen Vokalsolisten Stuttgart, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Ensemble Ascolta, Staatsopern-Kammerchor Apollini et Musis, der Philharmonie Ljubljana sowie dem Collegium Novum Zürich. Zu hören waren seine Ensembles auf der Münchener Biennale, den Bregenzer Festspielen, bei musicadhoy Madrid, bei Wien Modern, dem Eclat Festival Stuttgart, den Klangspuren Schwaz, auf der Biennale Venedig und beim Lucerne Festival.

In der Saison 2008/2009 arbeitete er als Assistent unter Daniel Barenboim an der Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin. Zwei Spielzeiten später gehörte Michael Wendeberg zur Musikalischen Leitung am Nationaltheater Mannheim. Von 2011 bis 2014 wirkte er als Kapellmeister und Stellvertreter des Generalmusikdirektors am Luzerner Theater.

Aktuell ist Michael Wendeberg musikalischer Leiter des Ensembles Contrechamps (Genf) und fester Gastdirigent der Staatsoper Yerewan. Seit der Saison 2016/17 arbeitet Wendeberg als 1. Kapellmeister an der Oper Halle. Weitere Verpflichtungen in der Saison 2016/17 beinhalten sein Debütkonzert mit dem Ensemble Modern in Brüssel sowie eine Opernproduktion an der Werkstatt der Staatsoper Berlin.

Er verbindet in seiner Arbeit den Umgang mit dem klassischen Repertoire von Bach bis Schönberg und die intensive Beschäftigung mit neuer und neuester Musik.