Last spring, Benjamin Ellin stood out as conductor of the Sibelius’ 2nd Symphony with the Slaithwaite Philharmonic in Dewsbury but also during their tour in Normandy, France early June.
Between the two events, he made his debut with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra at the Busan Port Festival in South Korea where he conducted Dvorak’s 9th Symphony.
Lio Kuokman : The Sofia – Taiwan – Detroit – Tokyo marathon
Lio Kuokman made a marathon of great concerts this spring. After conducting two back-to-back debuts with the Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, he delivered a wonderful performance with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in an innovative mix of works:
Elgar: Serenade for Strings, op.20
Haydn: Cello Concerto with Wu Wei
Gounod: Petite Symphonie
Bartók: Divertimento for String Orchestra.
Then he went on to Japan for the Folle Journée Festival where he conducted 7 concerts and 6 different programmes including Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
Latvian musicians Baiba Skride and Andris Poga are making waves in the classical world
We can say that Andris Poga is a real Star of the world of classic music now. His overbooked schedule is impressive! After his successful concerts in France, Switzerland, in May he made his debut at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Baiba Skride in a challenging programme:
WAGNER
Rienzi: Overture
PROKOFIEV
Violin Concerto No.1
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No.6, Pathétique
Domingo Hindoyan conducted “Il turco in Italia” in Norway
In March Domingo Hindoyan conducted an incredible creative opera production by Mark Lamos of Rossini’s “Il turco in Italia” at the Bergen National Opera in Norway.
You can watch the final scene here.
Rossen Gergov conducts “War Requiem” at the Bulgaria Hall
On May 9th, for the celebration of the end of WWII, Rossen Gergov conducted the majestic “War Requiem” by Benjamin Britten, with the participation of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra, Mixed Choir and Children Choir of the Bulgarian National Radio as well as the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir. The audience was overwhelmed with emotions.
It was certainly a memorable moment of the musician’s career!
Andris Poga : Paris-Rome
Despite a tight schedule, on 23-24th of February, Andris Poga filled-in for Jaap Van Zweden at the head of the Orchestre de Paris. He proposed a striking interpretation of “a layout of the joyful themes” in the 5th Symphony by Prokofiev, as well as a subtle and supple reading of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with Truls Mørk.
A happy coincidence : Andris Poga was almost immediately asked to conduct the Academia Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome on 2-3-4th of March. That was his debut with one of the most prestigious orchestras in Italy. He was in a perfect fusion with the musicians in a grandiose “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” by R. Strauss, his favorite composer. Bravo to Andris for this brilliant feat !
Kalle Kuusava made his debut with the Orchestre Symphonique du Québec
On March 15th Kalle Kuusava made his debut in Canada, having been invited by Fabien Gabel, the Musical Director of the Orchestre Symphonique du Québec. That evening a ‘delicious’ programme was delivered. For starters, the Symphonic Chocolates by Goulet, followed by Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the pianist Sara Davis Buechner, and Symphony n°2 by Sibelius. That programme certainly did not let its audience go hungry.
Lio Kuokman at the Hong-Kong Arts Festival
Last February, Lio Kuokman was at the head of a great production at the Hong-Kong Arts Festival with over 150 artists on-stage (including a choir of 50 children). This production assembled elements of Dancing, Music, Poetry from 1840 until nowadays, as well as Visual Arts, in honour of the city of Hong-Kong (established ca. 1842). A unique and moving moment!
They are beyond all expectations (CD Tchaikovsky, Sibelius)
Roberto Fores Veses and the Orchestre d’Auvergne’s latest recording of « Serenade for strings opus 48 » by Tchaikovsky and « Voces intimae » by Sibelius got excellent reviews.
Listening to this magnificent music suspends Time, and we regret that the music does not last longer. This interpretation of the Orchestre d’Auvergne and its Spanish conductor Roberto Fores Veses are beyond all expectations, complete with a brilliant sound recording. What we have here is a beautiful reference of discography. ResMusica
More reviews in French:
Resmusica
classiquenews.com
On mag
Entretien avec Roberto Forés Veses – La Montagne, jeudi 26 janvier 2017
Debora Waldman’s triomphal tour in Colombia
In February-March Debora Waldman made a triumphal tour in Colombia with Colombian National Symphony Orchestra.
Bravo Debora !
