Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly devotes himself to both concert and operatic repertoire. The Milan native has conducted the Berlin and Vienna philharmonics, Münchner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared at the most important opera houses throughout the world, including Milan's La Scala (where he made his debut in 1978); Vienna State Opera; Metropolitan Opera; London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; and Oper Zürich. Mr. Chailly opened the Salzburg Festival in 1984 and has appeared as guest conductor at Salzburg's Easter Festival and at the Lucerne Festival.
Mr. Chailly was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1983 to 1986 and chief conductor of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin from 1982 to 1989. From 1986 to 1993, he was music director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, where he conducted numerous opera productions with resounding success.
Since his tenure as chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (1988 to 2004), he has also increasingly devoted himself to symphonic repertoire. He delights a steadily growing audience not only with his performances of the great standard works, but with many 20th-century works as well. He has led the Concertgebouw Orchestra on numerous tours to the major European festivals, and recently completed the Millennium Tour with concerts in the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe.
In 1994, Mr. Chailly was awarded the title of Grand Officer of the Republic of Italy, and in 1996, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. In November 1998, on the occasion of his 10th anniversary as chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands awarded him the title of Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion. In 1998, he also became a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Republic of Italy.
Mr. Chailly has an exclusive recording contract with Decca and has recorded an extensive repertoire of symphonic works and operas, including a total of more than 100 CDs. He has received many awards for his recordings, including several Edison Prizes and Gramophone Awards, as well as the Diapason d'Or, the Charles Cross Academy Award, Japan's Unga Konotomo Award, the Toblach Komponierhäuschen ("Composition Cottage") Award, and numerous Grammy nominations. Diapason and Gramophone each recently named him Artist of the Year.
Riccardo Chailly's first artistic encounter with the Gewandhaus Orchestra took place at the Salzburg Festival in 1986. He took up his position as Gewandhauskapellmeister (Music Director) in September 2005.
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is the oldest civic concert orchestra in the world. The orchestra had its origins in Grand Concert, a concert society founded by 16 merchants in 1743. Following its move into the meetinghouse of the textile merchants (the "Gewandhaus") in 1781, the ensemble was named the Gewandhaus Orchestra. In 1884, the orchestra moved into a new concert hall that was later destroyed during the air raids of 1944. In 1981, a new Gewandhaus was opened on Augustusplatz.
Few other orchestras have contributed as much to the development of the symphonic musical tradition as the Gewandhaus Orchestra. It performed all of Beethoven's symphonies during the composer's lifetime, presented the world's first complete Bruckner cycle, and presented the first complete Shostakovich cycle during the 1970s.
The orchestra boasts an exceptionally wide repertoire and an unusually large number of performances. This is due, in part, to its multiple functions as a concert orchestra, an opera orchestra for Oper Leipzig, and as a chamber orchestra (performing cantatas with the world-famous boys' choir at the Thomaskirche). With more than 200 performances per year, the Gewandhaus Orchestra is the musical heart of Leipzig and its most important musical ambassador.
Felix Mendelssohn, Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and Bruno Walter number among the most distinguished Gewandhaus music directors. Riccardo Chailly, who is the orchestra's 19th Music Director, follows Kurt Masur and Herbert Blomstedt.
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