November, 7th (Tue)

C. Saint-saëns          Piano Concerto No.2 in g minor, Op.22

 
                               INTERMISSION

 
S. Prokofiev         Symphony No.5 in Bb Major, Op.100

November, 8th (Wed)
 

L. v. BeethovenSymphony No.4 in Bb Major, Op.60

 
                                INTERMISSION

 
J. Brahms Symphony No.1 in c minor, Op.68
 
 
 
 About the Conductor  TUGAN SOKHIEV
 

Internationally renowned conductor Tugan Sokhiev divides his time between the symphonic and lyric repertoire, guest conducting the most prestigious orchestras around the world.

Tugan Sokhiev regularly conducts orchestras of the calibre of the Vienna, Berlin, New York Philharmonic orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Boston, Chicago, NHK Symphony Orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, where he was Principal Conductor between 2012 and 2016. 
 

As Music Director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse from 2008 to 2022, Tugan Sokhiev headed numerous successful concert seasons, including several world premieres and a significant number of tours abroad, propelling the orchestra to international prominence. Passionate about his work with singers, from 2014 to 2022 he was Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow conducting many new productions and premieres. He has guest conducted at the Metropolitan Opera New York (with orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre), received enormous critical acclaim for The Love for Three Oranges at the Aix-en-Provence festival and subsequently taking the production to the Teatro Real in Madrid. In 2021, he conducted a highly praised new production of Salome at the Bolshoi Theatre.
 

The 2022/2023 season includes engagements with the Orchestra of La Scala, Milan, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Dresden Staatskapelle. He will also return to the Munich and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as series of concerts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
 

Tugan Sokhiev has a rich and varied discography, including recordings with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse on Naïve and Warner Classics, winning the Diapason d'Or in 2020. His recordings with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester have been released on Sony Classical. He has collaborated with EuroArts on a series of DVDs, the first of which - A Flight through the Orchestra -features his interpretation of Brahms' Second Symphony with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester. On the same label he appears with the Capitole de Toulouse in a recording of Bartok’s The Wooden Prince and Brahms’ First Symphony (2017), and with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in works by Ravel and Prokofiev (Waldbühne, 2019).
 

One of the last students of legendary teacher Ilya Musin at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Tugan Sokhiev is eager to share his expertise and thus initiated a Conducting Academy in Toulouse.
 
 About the Orchestra   WIENER PHILHARMONIKER

There is perhaps no other musical ensemble more closely associated with the history and tradition of European classical music than the Vienna Philharmonic. In the course of the past 177 years, this orchestra has experienced and influenced the course of musical history around the world. Even to this day, prominent soloists and conductors refer to the unique "Viennese Sound" as the outstanding quality that sets it apart from other orchestras.
 

The fascination that the orchestra has held since its foundation by Otto Nicolai in 1842 for prominent composers and conductors, as well as for audiences all over the world, is based upon the conscious maintenance of a homogenous musical style which is carefully bequeathed from one generation to the next, as well as a unique history and organizational structure. The pillars of the 'Philharmonic Idea', which remain valid even today, are a democratic organization that places the entire artistic and organizational decision making process in the hands of the musicians themselves, and a close symbiosis with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Vienna Philharmonic statutes stipulate that only musicians from the opera orchestra can become members of the Vienna Philharmonic.
 

Another unique feature of this democratic structure is that the orchestra itself is solely responsible for the organization of concerts and the selection of repertoire, as well as the engaging of conductors and soloists. In 1860, the Subscription Concert series was introduced, for which one conductor was engaged for an entire season. These concerts formed a solid artistic and economic basis that remains in place to this day. Beginning in 1933, the orchestra adapted a system of guest conductors, which promotes a wide spectrum of artistic encounters with the most prominent conductors of each generation.

The Vienna Philharmonic performs approximately 40 concerts in Vienna annually, among them the New Year's Concert and the Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn, which are broadcast in numerous countries around the world. The orchestra also has an annual summer residency at the Salzburg Festival and performs more than 50 concerts a year on its international tours. All of these activities underscore the reputation of the Vienna Philharmonic as one of the world's finest orchestras.
 
 

 About the Pianist   LANG LANG 
 

Lang Lang is a leading figure in classical music today – as a pianist, educator and philanthropist he has become one of the world’s most influential and committed ambassadors for the arts in the 21st century. Equally happy playing for billions of viewers at the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony in Beijing or just for a few hundred children in the public schools, he is a master of communicating through music. 
 

Heralded by the New York Times as “the hottest artist on the classical music planet”, Lang Lang plays sold-out concerts all over the world. He has formed ongoing collaborations with conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim and Christoph Eschenbach and performs with all the world’s top orchestras. Lang Lang is known for thinking outside the box and frequently steps into different musical worlds. His performances at the GRAMMY Awards with Metallica, Pharrell Williams or jazz legend Herbie Hancock were watched by millions of viewers.
 

For about a decade Lang Lang has contributed to musical education worldwide. In 2008 he founded the Lang Lang International Music Foundation aimed at cultivating tomorrow’s top pianists, championing music education at the forefront of technology, and building a young audience through live music experiences. In 2013 Lang Lang was designated by the Secretary General of the United Nations as a Messenger of Peace focusing on global education.
 

Lang Lang started playing the piano aged three, and gave his first public recital before the age of five. He entered Beijing’s Central Music Conservatory aged nine, and won First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians at 13. He subsequently went to Philadelphia to study with legendary pianist Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music. He was seventeen when his big break came, substituting for André Watts at the Gala of the Century, playing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach: he became an overnight sensation and the invitations started to pour in.
 

Lang Lang’s boundless drive to attract new audiences to classical music has brought him tremendous recognition: he was presented with the 2010 Crystal Award in Davos and was picked as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. He is also the recipient of honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music and New York University. In December 2011 he was honoured with the highest prize awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China and received the highest civilian honours in Germany (Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) and France (Medal of the Order of Arts and Letters). In 2016 Lang Lang was invited to the Vatican to perform for Pope Francis. He has also performed for numerous other international dignitaries, including four US presidents and monarchs from many nations.