Childhood Memories
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie
Rheinland-Pfalz
Rheinland-Pfalz
Dubai, UAE
Alexey Shor’s ‘Childhood Memories’ was premièred as a composition for piano solo. Later, Shor arranged it as a Concerto for piano and orchestra. The music reflects memories from Shor’s childhood, as well as his daily life with his own children – a subject that has inspired other works by the contemporary composer. Young Moscow-born pianist Andrey Gugnin is praised for his highly virtuosic and passionate style, and, familiar with Alexey Shor’s oeuvre, has delighted audiences in previous performances of this concerto, one which demands technical virtuosity as much as it requires taste and a fine sense of humour.
When, in 1909, ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev decided to prepare another successful production in Paris, he turned to the almost unknown Igor Stravinsky. The young Russian composer who, only four years later, was to cause one of the biggest theatrical scandals of the 20th century with ‘Le Sacre du Printemps’ (“The Rite of Spring”), was in fact the second choice. If Anatoly Lyadov had only been less reluctant, he would have become the composer of ‘L’Oiseau de Feu’ (“The Firebird”), and the history of music might have turned out quite differently.
In 1910, Diaghilev’s famous company Ballets Russes seduced Paris audiences with their production based on old Russian fairy tales, magically staged and choreographed by Michel Fokine. ‘The Firebird’, however, surely would have witnessed less success without Stravinsky’s music – one of the most luxurious and sumptuous compositions for ballet ever written. Utilising shimmering textures and tantalising harmonies, Stravinsky’s iconic score imaginatively evokes the otherworldly, mystical qualities of the ballet’s fantastical story, taking listeners on a fascinating and exhilarating trip through a work steeped in Russian folklore.
In their final appearance at this year’s InClassica, Michael Francis conducts the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz for this engaging concert that delves into the minds of two very different composers, as we explore musical territory both new and old, journeying through complex and varying musical landscapes into myth and legend.
ANDREY GUGNIN
Michael Francis has quickly established himself as one of the leading international conductors of today. With the start of the 2019-20 season, Francis begins his tenure as Chief Conductor of Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Appointed Music Director of the Florida Orchestra in the fall of 2014, he is now entering his fifth season with a contract extension through the 2023-24 season. His role in building a wide variety of transformative community engagement initiatives has significantly grown the organization. Since 2014 as Music Director of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, California with a contract renewal through the summer of 2023, he continues his ambitious multi-year exploration of Mozart’s life. He was Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra from 2012-16.
For the 2019-20 season, upcoming engagements include a debut with the Detroit Symphony for their season opening, as well as return performances with the Indianapolis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Philharmonia, MDR Leipzig, RSB Berlin and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken.
Previous and upcoming highlights include North American performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Rochester Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Cincinnati, St. Louis, San Diego, Houston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Pacific, Montreal, Toronto and National Arts Centre (Ottawa). In Europe, he has conducted the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE Madrid, the Mariinsky Orchestra, the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Scottish Symphony. In Asia, Maestro Francis has worked with the NHK Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan as well as the philharmonic orchestras of Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Seoul.
Michael Francis has collaborated with notable soloists such as Lang Lang, Arcadi Volodos, Itzhak Perlman, Christian Tetzlaff, Vadim Gluzman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Nicola Benedetti, Javier Perianes, Jamie Barton, Truls Mørk, Håkan Hardenberger, Maximilian Hornung, Miloš, Benjamin Grosvenor, Emanuel Ax, Ian Bostridge, James Ehnes, Sting, Rufus Wainwright and many others.
Educational outreach with young musicians is of utmost priority for Maestro Francis. He returns to the National Youth Orchestra of Canada during the summer of 2020, having conducted their Spanish tour in 2019. He has also frequently conducted Miami’s New World Symphony and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. Francis works on a regular basis with young musicians in Florida as part of the orchestra's community engagement initiative.
Francis’ discography includes the Rachmaninov piano concertos with Valentina Lisitsa and the London Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Rihm’s Lichtes Spiel with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the New York Philharmonic, and the Ravel & Gershwin piano concertos with Ian Parker.
A former double-bass player in the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Michael Francis came to prominence as a conductor in January of 2007 stepping in for Valery Gergiev and John Adams with the LSO.
Francis makes his home in Tampa, FL with his wife Cindy and four-year-old daughter Annabella.
Moscow-born concert pianist Andrey Gugnin is rapidly gaining international acclaim as a passionately virtuosic performer, who possesses an “extraordinarily versatile and agile technique, which serves an often inspired musical imagination” (Gramophone). Since winning the prestigious Sydney International Piano Competition in 2016, Gugnin has gone from strength to strength in concerts and recordings which exhibit his impassioned interpretations.
In addition to winning in Sydney, Gugnin also received prizes at this illustrious competition for Best Overall Concerto, Best 19th/20th Century Concerto, Best Violin and Piano Sonata, and Best Preliminaries for his first-round recital. His also won the Gold Medal and Audience Award at the XCI International Gina Bachauer Piano Competition in 2014, and second prize at the 2013 Beethoven International Piano Competition in Vienna.
Increasingly in demand as a concerto soloist, Gugnin has been invited to perform as a guest artist with notable orchestras worldwide, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony, and has performed under the distinguished batons of Maestro Valery Gergiev, Jaap Van Zweden, Reinbert de Leeuw, Daniel Raiskin, Stanislav Kochanovsky and Asher Fisch. He has also collaborated in a more chamber context with the Asko Schönberg ensemble, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Jerusalem Camerata and Camerata Salzburg and on several occasions as the duo partner of violinist Tasmin Little.
As a recording artist, Gugnin has published a broad scope of repertoire ranging from solo piano to symphonic works. His recent release of Shostakovich: Sonatas (Hyperion, 2019) was selected by BBC Music Magazine as Recording of the Month, and his release of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes (Piano Classics, 2018) were commended as Editor’s Choice, and distinguished Gugnin as “one to watch” (Gramophone). Other notable recordings include his duo programme with violinist Ioana Cristina Goicea (Atoll Records, 2019), an inspired selection of solo piano suites entitled Pictures (Steinway & Sons, 2016), and a collection of piano duets with Vadim Kholodenko (Delos International, 2010). Andrey has also extensively recorded for TV and radio in Russia, The Netherlands, Croatia, Austria, Australia, Switzerland and the USA.
In addition to these recordings, Gugnin’s Shostakovich Concertos (Delos International, 2007) were selected to feature on the soundtrack of Steven Speilberg’s Oscar®-winning film Bridge of Spies.
Gugnin’s expanding list of performance venues include Vienna’s Musikverein, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Carnegie Hall in New York, Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Sydney Opera House, the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Mariinsky Concert Hall, the Louvre in Paris, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space and Asahi Hamarikyu Hall. Gugnin has also participated in a plethora of international festivals, including Verbier, Klavier Festival Ruhr, Mariinsky International Festival, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the Ohrid Summer Festival and the Duszniki Chopin International Festival.
In 2020 Gugnin embarks on performing the complete set of Beethoven concertos with the Moscow Philharmonic in a personal subscription series. He will also perform a number of solo recitals at prestigious venues in Russia, participate in a tour with the Jerusalem Camerata Orchestra, and will collaborate with violinist Tasmin Little in a series of concerts in the UK and Russia, presenting an inspiring programme of Brahms, Beethoven and Part. Gugnin took his first lessons with Natalia Smirnova, who laid the foundations for study with Olga Mechetina, Valery Kastelsky, Lev Naumov, Stanislav Ioudenitch, William Naboré and Vera Gornostayeva.
In the shadow of the First World War, committed citizens in Landau met in September 1919 to decide on the formation of a travelling state symphony orchestra. After the founding concert on 15 February 1920, the orchestra set out on an initial concert tour through the Palatinate and Saarland. This was the start of the history of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, which in the meantime can look back on a more than 100-year tradition.
Even in the initial years the orchestra attracted transregional attention under the conducting of Richard Strauss and Hermann Abendroth. Principal conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach and Leif Segerstam, today honorary conductors, helped the orchestra to achieve international recognition. Michael Francis, who is also principal conductor of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz this season, will provide considerable fresh impetus and thus continue the orchestra’s tradition.
As an orchestra without a permanent domicile, providing the federal state with symphonic music is the most important task of the State Philharmonic Orchestra. It brings the music to the people with over 100 concerts per season. Guest performances at home and abroad as well as collaboration with internationally renowned conductors and soloists bears witness to the excellent reputation that the orchestra enjoys. Arrangement and family formats enhance the offer for young people. Even the very youngest are introduced to the world of classical music with visits to rehearsals and concerts for children. Regular concert recordings by SWR (“Southwest Broadcasting”) and Deutschlandfunk Kultur (German World Radio Service, Cultural Programming) as well as numerous CD productions round off the State Philharmonic Orchestra’s diverse range of activities.
Not only wanderlust and awakening characterise the orchestra in geographical terms. The State Philharmonic Orchestra also repeatedly hits the road in the figurative sense. As far as the orchestra is concerned, brining music to people not only means being on site, but also reaching people directly. So 101 years after formation the orchestra is also an integral part of cultural life, and more than ever a cultural beacon for the State of Rhineland-Palatinate and beyond.
