Program

Dvořák Cello Concerto

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5

About the Conductor

Music Director | Gustavo Gimeno

Gustavo Gimeno is Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (OPL) and of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He has been appointed as Music Director of the Teatro Real in Madrid starting from the 2025/26 season.

Since the beginning of his tenure in 2015, Gustavo Gimeno has led the OPL in multiple concert formats in Luxembourg and performed with the orchestra at numerous leading concert halls in Europe and South America. In addition, Gustavo Gimeno is a sought-after guest conductor throughout the world and has been invited to lead the Münchner Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Orchestre de Paris, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra, among others. He has a special working relationship with the Concertgebouworkest, which he leads regularly in Amsterdam and on tour.

A native of Valencia, Gustavo Gimeno began his international conducting career in 2012 – when he was a member of the Concertgebouworkest – as an assistant to Mariss Jansons. He gathered essential experience as an assistant to Bernard Haitink and Claudio Abbado, who mentored him intensely and had a lasting influence on his career in numerous ways.

About the Soloist

Cellist | Jaemin Han

“Jaemin is an extraordinary talent. He is highly musical, and his playing is self-assured, defined by a disciplined nature; he possesses an ability to grasp a piece of music and bring it to life in his own right. There is such joy and spontaneity in his performance!”

- Myung-Wha Chung

Born in 2006 in Wonju, South Korea, cellist Jaemin Han came to international attention in May 2021 when he was awarded the grand prix of the George Enescu International Competition as the youngest prize winner in the history of the competition. Later in the same year, he won the third prize at the Geneva International Music Competition. In November 2022 Han received the first prize at the ISANGYUN Competition, being the first to win the competition by playing Yun’s cello concerto (1976) at the final. It was the first time in 20 years that the piece was performed at the final round.

Dates in the 2022/23 season include a recital at the Tongyeong International Festival, his New Zealand debut with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Shi-Yeon Sung, and a tour of Korea with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and their chief conductor Gustavo Gimeno.

Coming from a family of musicians, Jaemin Han started playing the cello at the age of five and made his debut three years later in his hometown with the Wonju City Symphony Orchestra. He has since performed with leading Korean ensembles such as Korean Chamber Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and PyeongChang Festival Orchestra. Highlights of his past performances include the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the 2022 Orchestra Festival of the Seoul Arts Center. His exceptional talent was recognised from an early age when he won first prizes at the Osaka International Music Competition 2015, International Cello Competition ‘David Popper’ for Young Cellists 2017 and International Dotzauer Competition for Young Cellists 2019.

About the Orchestra

Orchestra | Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

The Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (OPL) has embodied the cultural vitality of the country at the heart of Europe since its founding in 1933 as part of the broadcasting activities of Radio Luxembourg (RTL). From 1996, the OPL has been publicly administered, and in 2005 it took up residence at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, where it performs in a hall with outstanding acoustics.