Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 2013 - Music - Arts - British Council

	Royal Philharmonic Orchestra China Tour

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra China Tour

July 2 Hangzhou Grand Theatre, Hangzhou
July 4 Tianjin Grand Theatre, Tianjin
July 5 National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing
July 7 Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou

Conductor: Charles Dutoit
Piano Soloist: Yuja Wang

Program:

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - The Hebrides, Op.26
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 (Piano: Yuja Wang)

——Intermission——

Claude Debussy - La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestra, L 109
Maurice Ravel - Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No.2

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

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 Gatti as Conductor Laureate.

Central to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s thriving concert schedule is its prestigious annual series at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. The Orchestra’s 2012-2013 series features Charles Dutoit, Pinchas Zukerman, Nicola Benedetti, Andrew Litton, Diego Matheuz, Kirill Karabits, Sir Willard White and The Bach Choir. At Cadogan Hall, the Orchestra’s London home in Chelsea, the intimate and luxurious surroundings provide the perfect concert atmosphere, with forthcoming performances featuring Grzegorz Nowak, Natasha Paremski and Jack Liebeck. Completing the Orchestra’s London programme of concerts, the iconic Royal Albert Hall provides the ideal setting for a varied series of monumental performances, ranging from large-scale choral and orchestral works to themed evenings of familiar repertoire. The Orchestra prides itself on a comprehensive regional touring programme, giving regular performances at venues across the UK and with established residencies in Croydon, Northampton, Lowestoft, Reading, Crawley, Ipswich, High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Dartford.

Internationally the Orchestra is in high demand, undertaking several major tours each season. Recent engagements have included a month-long tour to the USA and Canada, comprising of twenty-one concerts, as well as performances in China, Russia, Azerbaijan, Spain, Italy, Germany and Japan. The 2012-2013 season began with the third year of the Orchestra’s annual residency in Montreux, Switzerland, where it gave performances under Charles Dutoit and David Zinman with soloists including Louis Lortie, Daniil Trifonov and Arabella Steinbacher. Further engagements for the season include tours to Italy, Oman, Switzerland and Spain, and a major tour to Asia with Charles Dutoit and Yuja Wang.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s vibrant community and education programme, RPO resound, is one of the most diverse and celebrated programmes in the UK. Since its inception in 1993, specially trained musicians from the Orchestra, alongside accomplished project leaders, have delivered hundreds of pioneering projects where music is used as a powerful and inspirational tool. With an emphasis on broadening access to and engagement with world-class music-making, RPO resound is unique in the breadth and range of participant groups with which it works – from homeless shelters to hospices, youth clubs to prisons, and early years to higher education.

Frequently found in the recording studio, the Orchestra records extensively for film and television as well as for all the major commercial record companies.

PRESS QUOTES

‘The RPO do sensuousness uncommonly well. The end result was rich yet delicate, with wonderfully liquid woodwind solos and an exquisite sheen on the strings.’ The Guardian

‘Hats off to the RPO who sounded reborn.’ The Independent

‘The strings are highly impressive ... the RPO offers muscular brass and first-class woodwinds. The rhythmic intricacies and sharp contrasts in mood and tempi were dextrously handled by Dutoit and the musicians delivered the music with fleet bravura.’ Chicago Classical Review

Conductor: Charles Dutoit

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.

He is presently Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and he recently celebrated his thirty-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 Grammophon, EMI, Philips and Erato have garnered multiple awards and distinctions including two Grammys.

For twenty-five years Charles Dutoit was Artistic Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, a dynamic musical team recognised the world over. From 1991 to 2001, he was Music Director of the Orchestre National de France and in 1996, was appointed Principal Conductor – and soon thereafter Music Director – of the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), where he is now Music Director Emeritus. He was Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s season at the Mann Music Center for ten years and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for twenty-one years.

Charles Dutoit’s interest in the younger generation has always held an important place in his career and he has successively been Music Director of the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival and Miyazaki International Music Festival in Japan as well as the Canton International Summer Music Academy in Guangzhou. In 2009, he became Music Director of the Verbier Festival Orchestra.

When still in his early twenties, Charles Dutoit was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct the Vienna State Opera. He has since conducted at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Rome Opera and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

In 1991, he was made Honorary Citizen of the City of Philadelphia; in 1995, Grand Officier de l'Ordre national du Québec; in 1996, Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France; and in 1998, he was invested as Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada.

In 2007, he received the Gold Medal of the city of Lausanne, his birthplace. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of McGill, Montreal, Laval and the Curtis School of Music.

Charles Dutoit’s extensive musical training included violin, viola, piano, percussion, history of music and composition at the conservatoires and music academies of Geneva, Siena, Venice and Boston. A globetrotter motivated by his passion for history and archaeology, political science, art and architecture, he has traveled in all 196 nations of the world.