BACKCBSO Names Kazuki Yamada As The New Chief Conductor
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra today announces that its next chief conductor is to be Kazuki Yamada. The Japanese musician, born in 1979, has been CBSO’s principal guest conductor for the past three years, but in April 2023 will succeed Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who has led the orchestra since 2016.
“On his debut with the orchestra back in 2012 he made a very strong impression” said CBSO’s chief executive Stephen Maddock. “His technique is fabulous, he’s incredibly clear, he has a tremendously wide repertoire. He’s a really, really fine musician.”
Maddock cites a concert just before the Covid pandemic as illustrative of Yamada’s particular musical strengths. “The programme featured all three of Respighi’s Roman tone poems – music that has a reputation for being a bit over the top, tasteless even, but you came away thinking: ‘Wow, these are masterpieces of orchestration and description – those are far better pieces than I had realised!’”
Teodor Currentzis bleibt beim SWR Symphonieorchester
Teodor Currentzis bleibt Chefdirigent des SWR Symphonieorchesters. Er habe seinen Vertrag um drei weitere Jahre verlängert, teilte der SWR am Mittwochabend mit. Der 49-Jährige wurde in Athen geboren, besitzt auch einen russischen Pass. In den 1990ern Jahren studierte er am Staatlichen Konservatorium in St. Petersburg. Danach stieg er schrittweise zu einem bedeutenden Dirigenten der jüngeren Generation auf.
SWR-Intendant Kai Gniffke nannte Currentzis einen «Glücksfall für den SWR». «Er hat das Orchester in kürzester Zeit zu einem homogenen und hochklassigen Ensemble geformt, das im Südwesten und auch international gleichermaßen begeistert.»
Das Symphonieorchester des SWR war 2016 aus einer umstrittenen Fusion des SWR Sinfonieorchesters Baden-Baden und Freiburg sowie des Radio-Sinfonieorchesters Stuttgart des SWR hervorgegangenen.
Teodor Currentzis remains with the SWR Symphony Orchestra
Teodor Currentzis will remain principal conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. He has extended his contract for three more years, SWR announced Wednesday evening. The 49-year-old was born in Athens and also holds a Russian passport. In the 1990s, he studied at the State Conservatory in St. Petersburg. After that, he gradually rose to become an important conductor of the younger generation.
SWR director Kai Gniffke called Currentzis a “stroke of luck for SWR.” “In a very short time, he has shaped the orchestra into a homogeneous and top-class ensemble that is equally inspiring in the southwest and internationally.”
The SWR Symphony Orchestra had emerged in 2016 from a controversial merger of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg and the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart.
Gustavo Dudamel : un Vénézuélien à Paris
Le chef latino-américain superstar ajoute la direction musicale de l’Opéra national de Paris à celles du Los Angeles Philharmonic et de la Sinfonica Simon Bolivar de Caracas – dont il garde le titre même s’il n’est plus retourné dans son pays natal depuis que celui-ci est en proie au chaos. Toujours militant d’un changement de rapport entre musique et société, l’enfant du Sistema répond aux attaques dont ce modèle fait l’objet, et dessine pour Paris un nouvel horizon.
Depuis l’annonce officielle de sa nomination comme directeur musical de l’Opéra de Paris le 16 avril, Gustavo Dudamel, qui a pris ses fonctions au 1er août, ne se départ pas de son sourire et de son amabilité légendaires quand il entend pour la centième fois la même exclamation de surprise. L’opéra ? Mais vous êtes un chef symphonique ! Ceux qui ont eu la chance de suivre sa carrière au fil des années savent pourtant combien le théâtre lyrique lui est cher, et avec quelle gourmandise il le pratique.
Le choix des Parisiens ne s’est d’ailleurs pas fait à l’aveugle, mais avec en tête le triomphe d’une Bohème de Puccini fin 2017. Cependant, le parcours du tout récent quadragénaire, enfant du Sistema vénézuélien comme il aime à le rappeler, et promoteur autour du globe des projets qui s’en inspirent en faisant de l’éducation musicale et de la pratique orchestrale un levier d’inclusion sociale, a naturellement compté dans le choix d’Alexander Neef, nouveau directeur général de la Grande Boutique.
Gustavo Dudamel: a Venezuelan in Paris
The superstar Latin American conductor adds the musical direction of the Opéra national de Paris to those of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Sinfonica Simon Bolivar de Caracas – whose title he retains even though he has not returned to his native country since it fell into chaos. Always a militant for a change in the relationship between music and society, the child of the Sistema responds to the attacks on this model, and draws a new horizon for Paris.
Since the official announcement of his appointment as music director of the Paris Opera on 16 April, Gustavo Dudamel, who took up his post on 1 August, has never lost his legendary smile and friendliness when he hears the same exclamation of surprise for the hundredth time. Opera? But you are a symphony conductor! Those who have been lucky enough to follow his career over the years know how dear opera is to him, and how much he enjoys it.
The choice of the Parisians was not made blindly, but with the triumph of Puccini’s Bohème at the end of 2017 in mind. However, the career of the recently arrived forty-year-old, a child of the Venezuelan Sistema as he likes to call it, and promoter around the globe of projects inspired by it by making musical education and orchestral practice a lever for social inclusion, naturally counted in the choice of Alexander Neef, the new general manager of the Grande Boutique.
Jaap van Zweden to Resign As Music Director of the New York Philharmonic
Jaap van Zweden, music director of the New York Philharmonic, has announced plans to move on from his role at the end of the 2023–24 season. The conductor, who has led the Philharmonic since 2018, shared the news with the orchestra at the end of rehearsal on Wednesday.
“While I love the NY Philharmonic and look forward to continuing as Music Director over the next three seasons, so much has changed because of COVID, including thoughts about my own future, my life, and my family,” he reflects in a note to musicians obtained by Vulture. “I came to the New York Philharmonic as your Music Director, excited about working with you and committed to ensuring that you get the great home you deserve.
As you know, the completely transformed David Geffen Hall will now open in Fall 2022, almost two years ahead of schedule, thanks in large part to our supportive Board of Directors, to Deborah Borda’s leadership, and to Lincoln Center.
In life, I think timing is critical: it’s important to know when to say yes and when to move on. With that thought in mind, my inner voice tells me the time is right to conclude my tenure as Music Director at the end of the 2023–24 season.”
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