Kammerakademie Potsdam

10. October 2019/in 2021, 2021 /by Jane Pagel

The debut at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, successful tours throughout Europe, Asia and South America and the 2015 Classical prize in the “Ensemble/Orchestra of the Year” category are just a few highlights of the Kammerakademie Potsdam’s exciting development. A leading chamber orchestra in the state of Brandenburg and resident orchestra of Potsdam’s Nikolaisaal, Kammerakademie Potsdam impresses with the highest artistic quality, outstanding live performances and both contemporary and historically-informed interpretations. Musically versatile and with a vibrant style of music-making, the orchestra offers a more wide-ranged programme than ever in 2020/21.

Antonello Manacorda was appointed artistic director and principal conductor in the 2010/11 season; his predecessors include Sergio Azzolini, Andrea Marcon and Michael Sanderling.

For the 2020/21 season KAP will be bringing world renowned soloists to Potsdam. The orchestra is proud to present clarinetist, conductor and composer Jörg Widmann as artist in residence and looks forward to tours through the concert halls of Germany with violinist Christian Tetzlaff. Joining KAP for their debuts with the orchestra are Elisabeth Leonskaja, Cédric Tiberghien and Kian Soltani and the orchestra also welcomes returning solists Dagmar Manzel, Robin Johannsen, Andreas Ottensamer, Gábor Boldoczki, Kristian Bezuidenhout and Igor Levit. Internationally acclaimed guest conductors such as Michael Sanderling, Trevor Pinnock, Paul McCreesh and Adam Benzwi will be on the podium leading the orchestra. Following its recording of Mendelssohns “Lobgesang”, the orchestra will continue its collaboration with the NDR Choir under the baton of Klaas Stok.

The Potsdamer Winteroper, a coproduction of KAP and the Hans Otto Theater, will make its long awaited return to the Schlosstheater im Neuen Palais with Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera “The Rape of Lucretia” in 2020. Isabel Ostermann will direct and the orchestra will perform under the baton of British conductor Douglas Boyd. Soprano Kate Royal will join the star-studded cast as narrator.

The Kammerakademie Potsdam will continue to be a cultural ambassador for the city and the state of Brandenburg and will be making appearances at prestigious festivals and concert venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Bozar Brüssel, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie Köln, Philharmonie Berlin, Alte Oper Frankfurt and Heidelberger Frühling.

Musical and cultural education has always been a vital part of the Kammerakademie Potsdam’s work. A particularly special collaboration has been formed with the Drewitz Primary School, where the trio of orchestra, school and community centre, named “Music Creates Perspectives”, has created a unique and nationally recognised model of cultural outreach. It has been awarded the coveted “Kultur öffnet Welten” prize by the Minister for Culture and Media.

Lucas and Arthur Jussen

‘It is like driving a pair of BMWs’, remarked conductor Michael Schønwandt, after directing the Dutch brothers Lucas (25) and Arthur Jussen (21). Despite their young age, they have been part of the international concert world for years and are praised by both the press and audiences.

In addition to all major Dutch orchestras with which Lucas and Arthur have performed, they also received invitations from orchestras such as Mariinsky Orchestra, Dallas, Sydney and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, Camerata Salzburg and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. They collaborate with conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Jaap van Zweden.

The 2018/19 season begins with their debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and is followed by the brothers’ presentation at the traditional Prinsengracht Concert, which is the climax of classical music in the Netherlands every summer, and takes place on the canals of Amsterdam. Further highlights of the season include performances with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester and the Münchener Kammerorchester. They continue to champion Dobrinka Tabakova’s new double concerto, which they premiered in Amsterdam last season, and look forward to its regional premieres in France with the Orchestre de Picardie and in the UK with the BBC Concert Orchestra. In recital the duo perform in Munich’s Prinzregententheater, Moscow’s Zaryadye Hall, Palau de la Música in Barcelona and in the Konzerthaus in Vienna and Dortmund. As ‘Junge Wilde’ of the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the Jussen brothers will perform a variety of programmes at the Konzerthaus Dortmund in the next three seasons. They will embark on an Asian tour in June 2019, appearing in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Kaohsiung and Macao.

Lucas and Arthur received their first piano lessons in their native town of Hilversum. It became clear quickly that they were great talents. As children, they were already invited to perform for the Dutch queen Beatrix. First awards at competitions followed shortly. In 2005, the brothers studied in Portugal and Brazil for nearly a year at the invitation of Portuguese master pianist Maria João Pires. In the following years they took lessons from both Pires and two renowned Dutch teachers. Lucas completed his studies with Menahem Pressler in the US and Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid. Arthur graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory where he studied with Jan Wijn.

Recording exclusively with Deutsche Grammophon since 2010, their debut CD with works by Beethoven received platinum status and was awarded the Edison Klassiek audience award. A Schubert recording and their third CD Jeux, dedicated to French piano music, were subsequently released. In October 2015, they released their recording of Mozart’s piano concertos KV365 and KV242 together with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner. The album reached gold status and was listed by Gramophone UK amongst ‘The 50 Greatest Mozart Recordings’. Their most recent recording featuring works by Poulenc and Saint-Saëns was released in March 2017 (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Stéphane Denève). Their recording of the Poulenc Double Concerto was chosen as the best recording of this piece ever made by the French radio programme “La tribune des critiques de disques”.

Alexandra Conunova

16. September 2019/in /by Jane Pagel

Alexandra Conunova was born in 1988 in Moldova and began her violin studies at the age of six. Studied at the Rostov College of Music and Theatre (class of Petru Munteanu), the Hannover Hochschule für Musik und Theater (class of Krzysztof Wegrzyn) and the Conservatoire de Lausanne (class of Renaud Capuçon). Has taken lessons from Ivry Gitlis, Igor Oistrakh and Igor Ozim. Has won international acclaim and been a prize-winner at the International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in Hannover (1st prize).

Recent engagements include concerts at the Radio France Festival, the Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence, the Schloss Elmau Festival, the Verbier Festival and appearances with the Camerata Bern orchestra, the Erfurt Philharmonisches Orchester, the Norddeutsche Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester and the Moscow Soloists as well as a tour of Japan.

Prize-winner at the International Henri Marteau Violin Competition (2008), the International Ion Voicu Competition (2009), the Tibor Varga Competition (2010), the George Enescu International Violin Competition (2011) and the Singapore International Violin Competition (2015). In 2013 she took 1st prize at the Julius Bär Bank Awards at the Verbier Festival, while in 2015 as the award-recipient she gave a recital at the festival. In 2015 she took 3rd prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In 2016 she was awarded a grant by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and the Max Jost Foundation Prize.

Has appeared with the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, the Hungarian National Opera Symphony Orchestra, the State Hermitage Orchestra, the Gustav Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Saarbrücken Sinfonieorchester, the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Wiener KammerOrchester and the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra. Has collaborated with the conductors Christian Badea, Yuri Bashmet, Teodor Currentzis, Hannu Lintu and Gábor Takács-Nagy. Has performed chamber music with Boris Brovtsyn, Gérard Caussé, Renaud Capuçon, Finghin Collins, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Michail Lifits, Alexander Melnikov, Paul Meyer, Edgar Moreau, Andreas Ottensamer, Julien Quentin, Alexei Stadler, Kirill Troussov and István Várdai. Currently plays the Santo-Seraphin Violin, dated 1735, on generous loan from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.

Korean Chamber Orchestra

30. August 2019/in /by Jane Pagel

The Korean Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1965 and has established itself to be the leading chamber orchestra in the country. It has given almost 1,000 concerts worldwide and acquired a growing international reputation by embarking on numerous international tours. KCO has released 17 CDs, encompassing a wide range of repertoire, which have established a new standard of excellence in the filed of classical music.

KCO appeared in major concerts of which highlights include the UNESCO Concert for Peace in Paris and ‘UN Staff Day Concert’ in New York where it was appointed an official UN Chamber Orchestra for Peace in 2000. In 2015, KCO is progressing successful World Tour project to commemorate their 50th anniversary.

KCO plays several main concert halls in Washington D.C., Salzburg, London, Paris, Berlin Moscow, Vienna, New York, Boston, Munich, Heidelberg, Milano, Warsaw, Tokyo, Singapore, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Cerritos, San Diego, Toronto, Kingston, New Port and etc,.

Also, KCO was invited to the Rheingau Musik Festival(2007), George Enescu Festival(2011), Finland Naantali Festival(2007, 2019), Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival(2006, 2015), Italy Ascoli Piceno Festival and Carl Orff Festival(2011), Macao International Festival(2014), China Beijing NCPA May Festival(2015), Estonia International Mozart Festival(2006), Luxembourg Echternach Festival(2007), Austria Chopin Festival(2016), Russia Krasnoyarsk Chamber Music Festival(2016), Germany 40^th Eckelshausener Musiktage(2018).

Upcoming 2020, KCO was officially invited to the Mozart Festival Würzburg and Heidelberg Spring Festival.

The KCO, which celebrates its 55th anniversary in 2020, is planning a project to play the completed Mozart 46 symphonies.

Antonello Manacorda

29. August 2019/in Heidelberg Music Conference /by Jane Pagel

An Italian with a strong affinity for the German repertoire. A “natural melodist” (Der Tagesspiegel), who excels at transferring the intricacy of his stylistically informed interpretations to the big orchestral apparatus. More, a true artist merging sheer creative force with a highly collaborative performance style. Antonello Manacorda’s versatility as a conductor is rooted in the richness of his musical and cultural background: born into an French-Italian family in Turin, educated in Amsterdam and a longtime Berlin resident, Manacorda was a founding member and longstanding concert master of the Claudio Abbado – initiated Mahler Chamber Ochestra before studying under legendary Finnish conductor Jorma Panula. Today Antonello Manacorda is performing at both the world’s most renowned opera houses as well as at the helm of globally renowned symphony orchestras. At the heart of his work is the Kammerakademie Potsdam – an ensemble he has shaped as its Artistic Director since 2010 and produced a series of award-winning recordings with since.

In the 2020/21 season, Antonello Manacorda follows re-invitations to the Vienna State Opera (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”) and with a new production of Dmitri Tcherniakov’s “Der Freischütz” to the Bavarian State Opera, where he will also conduct productions of “Così fan tutte” and “The Magic Flute” in the 2020/21 season.

Highlights of his symphonic calendar in the 2020/21 season include guest appearances with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the SWR Symphony Orchestra and the Boulez Ensemble. On tour with the Kammerakademie Potsdam and the soloist Christian Tetzlaff Antonello Manacorda will perform amongst others at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Philharmonie Berlin, the NDR Sendesaal and the Elbphilharmonie.

Last season Antonello Manacorda debuted with “Le nozze di Figaro” at the Metropolitan Opera New York. Guest appearances have taken him amongst others to the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.

With the Kammerakademie Potsdam, Antonello Manacorda has recorded both a Mendelssohn cycle and a Schubert cycle for Sony, that have received highest praise by the press. The recording was awarded the 2015 ECHO Klassik in the category “Best Orchestra of the Year”. With the Het Gelders Orkest Antonello Manacorda has recorded for Challenge Records pieces by Ravel and Debussy as well as pieces by Berlioz and Mahler with the Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson.

Antonello Manacorda

29. August 2019/in Conductor, Conductor /by Jane Pagel

Antonello Manacorda, born in Turin, was founding member and longtime concertmaster of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado. He later studied conducting with Jorma Panula in Helsinki and has established himself as a highly sought-after conductor, both on the symphonic and on the operatic stage. Since 2010 Antonello Manacorda is Artistic Director of the Kammerakademie Potsdam.

In the 2019/20 season Antonello Manacorda will make his debuts at the Metropolitan Opera New York (“Le nozze di Figaro”) and at the Opéra national de Paris (“Così fan tutte”). He has been re-invited to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (“Alceste”) and to the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels with a new production of the Mozart/Da-Ponte cycle.

Highlights of his symphonic calendar in the 2019/20 season include guest appearances with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. With the Kammerakademie Potsdam Antonello Manacorda will continue a Mendelssohn cycle and presents the late Mozart symphonies at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. Last season he performed with the ensemble a cycle of the four symphonies by Johannes Brahms in Potsdam. Already in February 2014, Antonello Manacorda conducted a press acclaimed cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies in Potsdam on four consecutive days. He will perform with the Kammerakademie Potsdam amongst others at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Philharmonie Berlin and the Elbphilharmonie in the 2019/20 season.

Last season Antonello Manacorda conducted new productions at Amsterdam’s De Nationale Opera (“Die Zauberflöte”), at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels (“Die Zauberflöte”) and at the Bavarian State Opera (“Alceste”) and debuted with “La Traviata” at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London. Guest appearances have taken him to the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Antonello Manacorda retired from his position as chief conductor of the Dutch Het Gelders Orchestra in the 2018/19 season.

With the Kammerakademie Potsdam, Antonello Manacorda has recorded a Schubert cycle for Sony that has received highest praise by the international press. The recording was awarded the 2015 ECHO Klassik in the category “Best Orchestra of the Year”. With the Het Gelders Orkest and the Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson, Antonello Manacorda has recorded Mahler’s 4th Symphony for Challenge Records. He is currently recording all of Mendelssohn’s symphonies for Sony with the Kammerakademie Potsdam.

Emmanuel Tjeknavorian

10. December 2018/in Festival, Festival, Festival, Festival, Festival, Festival Violin, Violin /by Jane Pagel

Since being awarded the Best Interpretation of the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Second Prize at the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 2015, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian has gained international attention.

He has been selected to take part in the 2017/18 Rising Stars series of the European Concert Hall Organisation following nominations by the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Vienna Musikverein. On this tour, he will perform in some of Europe’s most renowned concert halls. Emmanuel Tjeknavorian has also been chosen to be a Great Talent at the Vienna Konzerthaus and perform in various chamber ensembles with artists such as Elisabeth Leonskaja.

Further highlights of the current season include debuts with the DSO in the Berlin Philharmonie and with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra as an Orpheum Foundation soloist. He will also work with Austria’s most important orchestras, such as the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, the Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra, the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tonkünstler Orchestra.

Emmanuel Tjeknavorian will perform once again with the Wiener Symphoniker, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Linz Bruckner Orchestra and the Wiener Jeunesse Orchestra in the Vienna Musikverein. Following his most successful debut-recitals, he received immediate reinvitation to the Rheingau Music Festival and the Hanko Music Festival in Finland. Furthermore, he will make his debut at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival as part of the Young Elite series.

In his young career, he has already performed with orchestras such as the Wiener Symphoniker, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg and the Munich Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Adam Fischer, Keith Lockhart, Hannu Lintu, Cornelius Meister, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Kristiina Poska and John Storgårds.

Since September 2017 Emmanuel Tjeknavorian presents his own monthly programme on Austria’s private classical music station „Radio Klassik“. In March 2018, he appeared on the Arte TV show “Stars von morgen” (Tomorrow’s Stars) with Rolando Villazón.

Born in Vienna in 1995, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian grew up in a musical family and took his first violin session at the age of five. Two years later, he had his first public performance with an orchestra and since 2011 he has studied under Gerhard Schulz, a former member of the world-famous Alban Berg Quartet, at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Emmanuel Tjeknavorian plays an Antonio Stradivari (Cremona) violin.