Press Enter to search
Stanislav Kochanovsky, Chief Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover as of the 2024/25 season, is one of the most interesting artistic personalities of our time. His heart beats for both symphonic music and opera. And with both genres, he has caused quite a stir in the international music world in recent years. His guest conducting engagements have taken him to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Japanese NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonie, the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra London, among the others.
In the course of his career, he has also conducted the major orchestras of his native country, including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the Moscow Philharmonic and the Mariinsky Orchestra.
With more than thirty operas in his repertoire, recent opera engagements have included The Pique Dame and Evgenij Onegin at the Opernhaus Zürich, Iolanta at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Prince Igor at the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, working with distinguished directors and singers such as D. Tcherniakov, B. Kosky, L. Davidsen, M. Goerne, C. Gerhaher, E. Nikitin, V. Sulimsky, I. Abdrazakov, P. Mattei.
Since 2017, Kochanovsky is a regular guest at the Verbier Festival where he conducted opera in concerts (Evgenij Onegin, Rigoletto, Die Zauberflöte, Hansel and Gretel) and symphonic programme with soloists Lucas Debargue and Mikhail Pletnev.
In addition to the classical repertoire, Kochanovsky has conducted rare performed works and new compositions, such as Ligeti’s Requiem, Scriabin-Nemtin’s Prefatory Action Mysterium, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Shostakovich’s unfinished opera The Gamblers, Myaskovsky’s Silence, Weinberg’s Symphony No. 21 “Kaddish” and works by living composers such as Dean, Fedele, Broström, Tawfiq, Visman, Campogrande, Martinsson, Golijov, Thorvaldsdottir, Tarnopolski, Rääts, Vasks.
In the 2024/25 season, besides the programs, tours and recording projects with his NDR Radiophilharmonie Orchestra, he will continue his regular collaborations with the Orchestre de Paris, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the NDR ElbPhilharmonie Orchestra, the DR Danish National Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Teatro La Fenice Orchestra, among others.
Stanislav Kochanovsky attended the Glinka Choir School in his hometown of St. Petersburg before going on to graduate with honours at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire, where he studied choral conducting, organ and opera-symphonic conducting.
During his studies, Kämpfen’s performances of Bach’s Passions with the Oberwalliser Vokalensemble, in chamber formation, accompanied by the Camerata de Berne, already brought him initial success.
His international career began in 1989, when he won the Gorizia International Choral Competition. He was also awarded the Special Prize for Best Director in the Renaissance and Romantic categories. He went on to win several national and international competitions with the Oberwalliser Vokalensemble, which he has conducted since its foundation in 1981.
In 1994, Hansruedi Kämpfen founded the Swiss Youth Choir, which, under his artistic direction and in collaboration with André Ducret, became one of Europe’s leading youth choirs over 24 years. In 2007, he won the Grand Prix for choirs awarded by the Steiger Foundation.
Hansruedi Kämpfen’s intense teaching activity, particularly at the AMO music school, has led him to train a generation of choirmasters (CH I Certificate) and, as a singing teacher and choirmaster, to launch several young singers on professional solo careers.
For six years, Hansruedi Kämpfen chaired the Music Commission of Europa Cantat (EC), and for three years he was Vice-Chairman of the Steering Committee of this European choral association.
For many years, Hansruedi Kämpfen was Chairman of the Music Commission of the Swiss Choral Association (USC) and President of the Swiss Federation Europa Cantat. He is actively involved in choral singing, both nationally and internationally.
Since 2013, he has been Artistic Director of the Montreux Choral Festival, Switzerland’s only international choral competition.
As director of various vocal ensembles, Hansruedi Kämpfen has worked with internationally renowned conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta and Ton Koopman, notably at the Verbier Festival and the Zermatt Festival.
Mikhail Pletnev is recognised as one of the finest artists of our time. He won the Gold Medal and First Prize in the 1978 International Tchaikovsky Competition at the age of 21, which brought him early recognition throughout the world. In 1990 he founded the Russian National Orchestra, joined by the best artists, and later founded the Mikhail Pletnev Fund, which supports major national cultural projects. A member of the Russian Cultural Council, in 2007 he received the President’s Award for his contribution to the country’s artistic life. The cumulative roles of pianist, conductor and composer are all important aspects of his life as an artist. However, he has the humility to always consider himself as a simple musician.
One of today’s most sought-after conductors, acclaimed for his charismatic leadership and inspirational performances in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Sir Antonio Pappano has been Music Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden since 2002, and Music Director of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome since 2005. Nurtured as a pianist, repetiteur and assistant conductor at many of the most important opera houses of Europe and North America, including at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and several seasons at the Bayreuth Festival as musical assistant to Daniel Barenboim for productions of Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and Der Ring des Nibelungen, Pappano was appointed Music Director of Oslo’s Den Norske Opera in 1990, and from 1992-2002 served as Music Director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. From 1997-1999 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Pappano is in demand as an opera conductor at the highest international level, including with the Metropolitan Opera New York, the State Operas of Vienna and Berlin, the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Théâtre du Châtelet and the Teatro alla Scala. His repertoire at the Royal Opera House has been notably wide-ranging, generating acclaim in productions including Ariadne auf Naxos, Wozzeck, Falstaff, La Bohème, Don Giovanni, Aida, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Il Trittico, Parsifal, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Lulu, Les Vêpres Siciliennes, Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, Norma, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Guillaume Tell, Andrea Chenier, Boris Godunov, The Queen of Spades, Semiramide and Szymanowski’s Król Roger, Birtwistle’s The Minotaur and Turnage’s Anna Nicole. Highlights of the 19/20 season include revivals of Otello, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, a tour of Japan with performances of Otello and Faust, and new productions of Fidelio and Elektra, featuring luminary singers including Jonas Kaufmann, Nina Stemme, Karita Mattila, Gerald Finley, Anna Netrebko and Bryn Terfel.
Pappano has appeared as a guest conductor with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin, Vienna, New York and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Chicago and Boston Symphonies, the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras and the Orchestre de Paris. He maintains a particularly strong relationships with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and forthcoming highlights include return visits to the Staatskapelle Dresden, Staatskapelle Berlin, London Philharmonic and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and widespread touring with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He also has a strong commitment to nurturing young singers and instrumentalists, and the summer of 2020 will see him deepening his connections with the Aldeburgh and Verbier Festivals, leading concerts and masterclasses.
Pappano has been an exclusive recording artist for Warner Classics (formerly EMI Classics) since 1995, and his discography features numerous complete operas, including Don Carlo, La Rondine, Guillaume Tell, Il Trittico, Werther, Il Trovatore, Tristan und Isolde, and most recently Aida, hailed as “unmissable” (The Sunday Times), “a triumph” (BBC Radio 3), “a magnificent achievement, of rare accomplishment” (Gramophone). His orchestral recordings with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia include Rachmaninov’s 2nd, Mahler’s 6th, Dvorak’s 9th and Tchaikovsky’s 4th, 5th and 6th symphonies, Respighi’s Roman Trilogy, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Petite Messe Solenelle and selected Overtures, Britten’s War Requiem, and Verdi’s Requiem, and his discography also documents his work with other ensembles including the London Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, and the orchestras of the Royal Opera House and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, in music ranging from Pergolesi and Mendelssohn through to Panufnik, Boesmans and Maxwell Davies. Numerous productions from the Royal Opera House have been released on DVD, including Carmen, Les Troyens, Parsifal, Simon Boccanegra, Le nozze di Figaro, and Manon Lescaut. His recordings have received extensive accolades including Classic BRIT, ECHO Klassik, BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone Awards.
As a pianist, Antonio Pappano appears as an accompanist with some of the most celebrated singers, including Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Gerald Finley and Ian Bostridge. He has also partnered singers and instrumental soloists on disc, including in operatic recitals with Nina Stemme, Placido Domingo, Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann, concerto recordings with soloists including Leif Ove Andsnes, Maxim Vengerov, Janine Jansen, Jan Lisiecki and Beatrice Rana, and chamber recitals with Ian Bostridge, Barbara Bonney and Joyce DiDonato.
Antonio Pappano was born in London to Italian parents, and moved with his family to the United States at the age of 13. He studied piano with Norma Verrilli, composition with Arnold Franchetti and conducting with Gustav Meier. His awards and honours include Gramophone’s ‘Artist of the Year’ in 2000, the 2003 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, the 2004 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award, and the Bruno Walter prize from the Académie du Disque Lyrique in Paris. In 2012 he was created a Cavaliere di Gran Croce of the Republic of Italy, and a Knight of the British Empire for his services to music, and in 2015 he was named the 100th recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal, the body’s highest honour. He has also developed a notable career as a speaker and presenter, and has fronted several critically-acclaimed BBC Television documentaries including ‘Opera Italia’, ‘Pappano’s Essential Ring Cycle’ and ‘Pappano’s Classical Voices’.
Born in Budapest, Gábor Takács-Nagy is considered one of today’s most authentic exponents of Hungarian music and was awarded the Liszt Prize in 1982 and in 2017 the prestigious Béla Bartók-Ditta Pásztory Prize. In March 2021 he received the Érdemes Művész award for Artist of Merit, presented to artists of long service in Hungarian national culture, and in December 2021, the Prima Primissima Prize, reserved for artists, athletes, and representatives of scientific life, culture, and education for their performances and exemplary human qualities and values. In March 2024 he received the highest award in Hungary, the Kossuth Prize, which acknowledges outstanding achievements in the fields of culture and the arts.
From 1975 to 1992 he was founding member and leader of the acclaimed Takács Quartet. In 1996 he founded the Takács Piano Trio and in 1998 established the Mikrokosmos Quartet
In 2003 he turned to conducting and in 2007 was appointed Music Director of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. In September 2011, he became Music Director of the Manchester Camerata, one of the UK’s leading chamber orchestras, and is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra since September 2012. He was Professor of String Quartet at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva until August 2021 and was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London in June 2012. In 2013 he became a Swiss citizen.
Gábor Takács-Nagy has conducted the Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Philharmonic of Bologna, , Japan Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Toulon, l’Orchestre Les Siècles, Royal Danish Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic , Japan Philharmonic, Hungarian National Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, BBC Symphony Orchestra Wales, Orchestra della Scala Milan, Paris Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne amongst others. Since June 2024 he is Artistic Partner of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota.
In June 2023 Deutsche Grammophon released the live recordings of the nine Beethoven symphonies with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra.
In June 2016 he debuted with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra as conductor and solo pianist. No less than two months later, his appointment as Chief Conductor was announced and he became the youngest conductor to hold the position in the orchestra’s history. The Rotterdam Philharmonic with Shani have an exclusive recording contract with Warner Classics.
Shani’s close relationship with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra began well over 10 years ago. He debuted with the orchestra aged sixteen, and in 2007 performed Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto under the baton of Zubin Mehta aged eighteen. He then went on to play regularly with the orchestra as a double bassist. In 2013, after winning the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg, the orchestra invited him to step in to conduct their season-opening concerts. Since then, he has returned to the orchestra every year as both a conductor and pianist.
Recent and upcoming guest conductor highlights include engagements with Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhaus Orchester, Münchner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Philharmonia Orchestra. In March 2022 Lahav Shani conducted Munich’s Benefit concert in aid of Ukraine at the Isarphilharmonie with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the three orchestras of the city, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Münchner Philharmoniker. In the 2022/2023 season, he began his 3-year residency at the Konzerthaus Dortmund.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1989, Shani began his piano studies aged six with Hannah Shalgi, before continuing with Prof. Arie Vardi at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. He went on to study conducting under Prof. Christian Ehwald and piano with Prof. Fabio Bidini at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler, Berlin and was mentored by Daniel Barenboim during his time there.
As a pianist, Shani has performed as a soloist with Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta and Gianandrea Noseda. He has play-directed piano concerti with many orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Staatskapelle Berlin and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Shani also has considerable experience performing chamber music and in recital and is a regular performer at the Verbier Festival, and has also appeared at the Aix-en-Provence Easter and Jerusalem Chamber Music Festivals, and in duo recitals with Martha Argerich.
Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda is one of the world’s most sought-after conductors, recognized equally for his artistry in both the concert hall and opera house, and for his extensive discography. Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra since 2017, his 2021/22 season saw him also step into the General Music Director role of Opernhaus Zürich, where a centrepiece of his tenure will be a new Ring Cycle directed by Andreas Homoki. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Nurturing the next generation of artists is important to Noseda, as evidenced by his ongoing work in masterclasses and tours with youth orchestras, including the European Union Youth Orchestra, and with his appointment as Music Director of the Tsinandali Festival in Georgia and its Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra.
Highly sought-after as a conductor and violinist, Roberto González-Monjas is rapidly making his mark on the international scene. He has built a strong reputation as a natural music leader, distinguished by his compelling artistic vision, remarkable charisma, boundless energy and enthusiasm, and sharp musical intellect. He is Chief Conductor of the Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland (since August 2021), Music Director of the Galicia Symphony Orchestra in Spain (since August 2023), Chief Conductor of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg (since September 2024), and Artistic Director of Iberacademy in Colombia. In addition, Roberto was Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra between 2022/23 and 2024/25, and the Dalasinfoniettan in Sweden named him Honorary Conductor following a four-year tenure as their Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of Dalasinfoniettan between 2019 and 2023.
Highlights of the 2025/26 season include a production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg and Così Fan Tutte at the Zurich Opera House, as well as the world premiere of Edmund Finnis’ Cello Concerto with Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The season also features an extensive UK tour with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, an Asian tour with the Mozarteumorchester, as well as guest debuts with the Spanish National Symphony Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony. Following a series of successful guest conducting debuts in recent seasons, Roberto returns in the 2025/26 season to collaborate with the Oslo Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Upcoming highlights beyond 2025/2026 include distinguished debuts and re-invitations with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Dresden Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, and Frankfurt Radio Symphony, among others.
Roberto regularly collaborates with a distinguished roster of singers and instrumentalists, including Joyce DiDonato, Rolando Villazón, Ian Bostridge, André Schuèn, Hilary Hahn, Lisa Batiashvili, Juan Diego Flórez, Clara-Jumi Kang, Andreas Ottensamer, Fazil Say, Reinhard Goebel, Mao Fujita, András Schiff, Jan Lisiecki, Kirill Gerstein, Yeol Eum Son, Alexandre Kantorow, Paul Lewis, Kit Armstrong, and Steven Isserlis. He is also deeply engaged with the music written by living composers, having premiered works and worked closely with composers such as Richard Dubugnon, Andrea Tarrodi, Anders Hillborg, Diana Syrse, Thierry Escaich, and Hannah Kendall, among others.
Driven by a deep commitment to education and the development of young talent, Roberto co-founded Iberacademy (Ibero-American Orchestral Academy) alongside with conductor Alejandro Posada. The institution is dedicated to building an efficient and sustainable model of music education in Latin America, with a particular focus on reaching vulnerable segments of the population and supporting exceptionally gifted young musicians. Based in Medellín, Colombia, Iberacademy also operates in Bolivia, Perú, Chile, and Cuba, offering life-changing opportunities to its students. In addition to his work in Latin America, Roberto is a violin professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, where he regularly mentors and conducts the Guildhall School Chamber and Symphony Orchestras at the Barbican Hall.
Following the international success of Mozart Serenades – his acclaimed debut recording with the Mozarteumorchester for Berlin Classics – Roberto’s latest album, featuring Mozart’s complete violin concertos, is set for release by Berlin Classics in early 2026. His recordings with the Musikkollegium Winterthur reflect his broad stylistic range and musical curiosity, spanning repertoire from Mozart, Beethoven, and Saint Saëns to Schoeck, Prokofiev, C.P.E. Bach, and Andrea Tarrodi. A regular collaborator with the Berlin Baroque Soloists, Roberto also appears as a soloist on their Sony Classical recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, conducted by Reinhard Goebel.
Roberto began his career as solo violinist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader. He served as concertmaster of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia for six years and as the leader of the Musikkollegium Winterthur until summer 2021. He plays a 1710 Giuseppe Guarnieri ‘filius Andreae’ violin kindly loaned to him by five Winterthur families and the Rychenberg Stiftung.
James Gaffigan’s natural ease and compelling musicianship put him in high demand with orchestras (Los Angeles Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris…) and opera houses (New York Metropolitan Opera, Munich Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Zurich Opernhaus…) around the world. In 2004, he was Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, and the same year he won the First Prize of the Sir Georg Solti International Competition. In addition to his outstanding conducting of operas by Mozart, Rossini, Puccini and Strauss, the American conductor has also contributed to the international reputation of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, where he has just concluded his tenure as Principal Conductor. Since 2021, James Gaffigan is the Music Director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra and was recently named Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin from the 2023/24 season for four seasons.
Michael Tilson Thomas is Founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. In addition to conducting the world’s leading orchestras, MTT is also noted for his work as a composer and a producer of multimedia projects that are dedicated to music education and the reimagination of the concert experience. He has won eleven Grammys for his recordings, is the recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors, and is an Officier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.