Born in Karelia, she received her singing training from E. Manukhova and G. Zastavny at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory (St. Petersburg) as well as at the Accademia delle Voci in Turin where she studied under Franca Mattucci.
She made her operatic debut at the Teatro Regio in Turin as Lady Macbeth in 2002, and has since given guest performances in this role in Bologna, Palermo, Ravenna, Trieste, Athens, Dallas, Madrid, Munich and Oviedo, as well as on a tour in Japan with La Scala conducted by Mº Riccardo Muti.
She has performed Amelia in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera in various Italian opera houses as well as at the Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam; the title role in Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna at the Ravenna Festival and in New York (on both occasions under the baton of Mº Riccardo Muti), in Lisbon, at La Scala in Milan and in Montpellier; Tosca in Bologna, Palermo and at the Bregenz Festival in 2007 and 2008; Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Trieste and Pordenone; Leonora... More
Arto Noras is one of the most outstanding cellists in the world today. He learned the instrument under the tuition of Yrjö Selin at the Sibelius Academy and went on to study with Paul Tortelier in Paris. He came to prominence internationally after his success in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1966.
Arto Noras has performed with major orchestras and conductors all over the world, and his repertoire encompasses practically the entire cello literature. He has also appeared as a distinguished chamber musician with some of the most acclaimed musicians of our time.
Noras has a fairly extensive list of recordings to his name, comprising several pieces written especially for him. Recently he has recorded in collaboration with Krzysztof Penderecki, among others.
Arto Noras' long career as Professor of Cello at the Sibelius Academy, his masterclasses the world over and his role as a jury member in international cello competitions have contributed to the advancement of cello music both... More
In the 2009/10 season Paul Watkins has been appointed Principle Conductor and Music Director of the English Chamber Orchestra, following two successful years as Associate Conductor. He first came to public attention as a cellist but has also developed a career as a conductor, launched in 2002 when the jury unanimously awarded him first prize at the Leeds Conductors’ Competition.
Paul Watkins has conducted all the principal British orchestras including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony, the BBC Philharmonic, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras. He also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 2009 to 2012.
Paul Watkins made his opera debut in 2006 conducting a critically acclaimed new production of La Voix Humaine directed by Deborah Warner for Opera North in Leeds.
He made his Japanese debut in 2008 conducting Elgar Symphony No 3 with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra... More
The English Chamber Orchestra has been selected by the American radio network CPRN as one of the world’s greatest ‘living’ orchestras. Its Patron is His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. The ECO aims to celebrate and build upon its traditions of maintaining the highest international musical standards and nurturing new talent, as well as being the chamber orchestra of choice for many of the world’s greatest soloists.
The illustrious history of the orchestra features many major musical figures including Sir Colin Davis (now Conductor Emeritus of the orchestra) and Daniel Barenboim who led the orchestra to perform an acclaimed complete cycle of Mozart piano concertos with Murray Perahia and Mitsuko Uchida. The orchestra’s highlights comprise its close relationship with Benjamin Britten who conducted ECO on many occasions and chose the orchestra to premier his works, including A Midsummer Night's Dream. The orchestra continues to attract major musicians, with Paul Watkins... More
Captivating audiences throughout the world, Charles Dutoit is one of today’s most sought-after conductors, having performed with all the major orchestras on most stages of the five continents.
Presently Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he recently сelebrated his 30-year artistic collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra, who in turn, bestowed upon him the title of Conductor Laureate. He collaborates every season with the orchestras of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles and is also a regular guest on the stages in London, Berlin,Paris, Munich, Moscow, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, amongst others.
His more than 200 recordings for Decca, Deutsche Grammophone, EMI, Philips and Erato have garnered multiple awards and distinctions including two Grammys.
For 25 years, Charles Dutoit was Artistic Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, a dynamic musical team recognized the world over. From 1991 to... More
Named by The Economist as one of 20 Living Polymaths, British pianist Stephen Hough is a rare renaissance man of our time. Over the course of a long and distinguished career as one of the world’s leading concert pianists, he has also excelled as a writer and composer.
His recent engagements include recitals in Berlin, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Sydney; performances with the Czech, London, Los Angeles, and New York Philharmonics, the Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Toronto symphonies, the Cleveland, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Budapest Festival and Russian National Orchestras; and a performance televised worldwide with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle. He is also a regular guest at festivals such as Aldeburgh, Aspen, Blossom, Edinburgh, Hollywood Bowl, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, Salzburg, Tanglewood, and the BBC Proms, where he has made over 20 appearances.
In the 2012-13 season Mr. Hough gives recitals in Belfast,... More
Formed in 1946 by flamboyant maestro Sir Thomas Beecham, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has enjoyed more than sixty-five years of success, giving first-class performances of a wide range of musical repertoire all over the world with artists of the highest calibre. Under the inspired leadership of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Charles Dutoit, the Orchestra continues to flourish, maintaining and building on a demanding schedule of performances, tours, community and education work, and recordings.
Throughout its history, the Orchestra has been directed by an illustrious list of distinguished conductors including Rudolf Kempe, Antal Doráti, André Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy and, more recently, Daniele Gatti. Today the Orchestra continues to enjoy the leadership of high-ranking conductors, with Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Charles Dutoit supported by Pinchas Zukerman as Principal Guest Conductor, Grzegorz Nowak as Principal Associate Conductor and Daniele... More
Born in 1943 in the Latvian capital of Riga to the renowned conductor Arvid Jansons, Mariss Jansons studied violin, viola and piano and graduated with honors from the Leningrad Conservatory with a degree in conducting. Studies in Vienna with Hans Swarowsky and in Salzburg with Herbert von Karajan followed. In 1971, Mariss Jansons emerged as a prize winner from the conducting competition of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation in Berlin. He was decisively influenced by the legendary Russian conductor Evgeny Mravinsky, who brought Mariss Jansons to the Leningrad Philharmonic as his assistant in 1971. Thereafter Mariss Jansons was closely associated with this orchestra, today’s St. Petersburg Philharmonic, until 1999.
From 1979 to 2000 Mariss Jansons serves as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic. Besides this he was Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1992‑1997) and Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1997‑2004). Beyond this he has successfully... More
Soon after it was founded by Eugen Jochum in 1949, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks developed into an internationally renowned orchestra. Eugen Jochum led the orchestra for eleven years (from 1949 to 1960.) He built up the orchestra completely with top-grade musicians and established its world-wide reputation on its initial foreign tours. Munich audiences have him to thank for incomparable interpretations of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner.
Rafael Kubelík headed the orchestra for eighteen years (1961 to 1979), and beyond that period remained closely associated with the orchestra as a guest conductor. He expanded the repertoire to include works by Slavic composers like Smetana, Janáček and Dvořák, as well as spearheading the cause of 20th century composers. Kubelik conducted the first Mahler cycle with a German orchestra.
Later on, Kyrill Kondrashin, Sir Colin Davis and Lorin Maazel took over. Also Clemens Krauss, Erich and Carlos Kleiber, Charles Munch, Ferenc... More
There are very few true living legends in the world of classical music, few who have sustained greatness and grown throughout their lives. Pepe Romero is such an artist. He has been honored by kings, heads of state, and major institutions-the encomiums continue to pour in. But to Romero, his most important contribution has been reaching the common man. He has communicated the richness and beauty of the classical guitar to millions of people throughout the world.
But this gift did not just appear out of nowhere. Pepe is the second son of one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived – Celedonio Romero. And he is brother to two more musical phenoms – Celin and Angel Romero. Pepe was born in Málaga, Spain, in 1944. In those days, following the devastating Spanish Civil War and during the Second World War, Spain was in desperate economic straits. Basic survival was the primary challenge. Yet, in spite of this, Celedonio Romero and his remarkable wife, Angelita, instilled in... More