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Kurt Masur is well known to orchestras and audiences alike as both a distinguished conductor and a humanist. In September 2002 he became music director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris, and, in September 2008, became that ensemble’s honorary music director for life. From September 2000 to 2007 he was principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1991 to 2002 he was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, and was subsequently named Music Director Emeritus — the first New York Philharmonic music director to receive that title, and only the second (after Leonard Bernstein, who had been named Laureate Conductor) to be so recognized. The New York Philharmonic established the Kurt Masur Fund for the Orchestra, which endows a conductor debut week at the Philharmonic in his honor in perpetuity. From 1970 until 1996 Mr. Masur served as Gewandhaus Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position of profound historic importance; upon his retirement in 1996 the Gewandhaus named him its first-ever conductor laureate. Mr. Masur is a guest conductor with the world’s leading orchestras and holds the lifetime title of honorary guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In July 2007 he celebrated his 80th birthday in a concert at the BBC Proms in London, where he conducted the joint forces of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France.
A professor at the Leipzig Academy of Music since 1975, Kurt Masur has received numerous honors, including the Cross of the Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany (1995); Gold Medal of Honor for Music from the National Arts Club (1996); the titles of Commander of the Legion of Honor from the French Government, and of New York City Cultural Ambassador from the City of New York (1997); and the Commander Cross of Merit of the Polish Republic (1999). In March 2002 the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Johannes Rau, bestowed upon him the Cross with Star of the Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany, and in September 2007 he received the Great Cross of the Legion of Honor with Star and Ribbon from the President of Germany, Horst Köhler.
In September 2008 Mr. Masur received the Furtwängler Prize in Bonn, Germany. He is also an honorary citizen of his hometown, Brieg. He has made more than 100 recordings with numerous orchestras, and in 2008 celebrated 60 years as a professional conductor.
Universally acclaimed as both conductor and pianist, and renowned for the breadth of his repertoire and the depth of his interpretations, Christoph Eschenbach belongs firmly to his native Germany’s intellectual line of tradition, yet combines this with a rare emotional intensity. Currently Musical Director of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, his previous appointments include musical directorships at the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His tireless support of young talent includes being Artistic Advisor and lecturer at the Kronberg Academy. Among his awards garnered over five decades of recording are the German Record Critics’ Prize, the MIDEM Classical Award and a GRAMMY. He has been awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, and is a Commandeur de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a holder of the German Federal Cross of Merit and a winner of the Leonard Bernstein Award.
Leonardo García-Alarcón, originally from Argentina, moved to Europe in 1997 to study at the Geneva Conservatory under harpsichordist Christiane Jaccottet. His journey into Baroque music began with Gabriel Garrido, and soon after, he founded his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea. In 2010, he became the artistic director of the Namur Chamber Choir and formed the Millenium Orchestra to accompany the choir. Alarcón divides his time between Geneva, where he teaches at the Haute Ecole de Musique, and various European cities, including France, where he is a key figure at the Ambronay Festival and artist-in-residence at the Dijon Opera. He also makes occasional trips back to South America.
Alarcón is credited with reviving Cavalli’s operas, including Elena and Erismena at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Eliogabalo at the 2016 Paris Opera season opener, Il Giasone in Geneva, and La Finta Pazza in Dijon. He also led the rediscovery of Antonio Draghi’s El Prometeo in 2018. As a conductor and harpsichordist, Alarcón is invited to prestigious festivals and concert halls worldwide. In 2018, he conducted Monteverdi’s Orfeo at the Berlin Staatsoper, and in 2019, he triumphed with Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes at the Opéra Bastille, marking the Royal Academy of Music’s 350th anniversary. He was recognized as the best conductor in Forum Opéra’s 2019 Palmarès.
In 2020, despite disruptions due to the pandemic, Alarcón adapted his concert programs and participated in virtual festivals. He conducted Rossi’s Il Palazzo Incantato in a video recording that was widely praised. His acclaimed discography includes I 7 Peccati Capitali (2016), De vez en cuando la vida (2018), and El Prometeo (2018). His 2021 releases include Rebirth with soprano Sonya Yoncheva, Lamenti & Sospiri with sopranos Mariana Flores and Julie Roset, Monteverdi’s Orfeo, and Le violon selon Bach with violinist Chouchane Siranossian.
Alarcón is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Kent Nagano is considered one of the outstanding conductors for both operatic and orchestral repertoire. His first major successes came with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1984, when Messiaen appointed him assistant to conductor Seiji Ozawa for the premiere of his opera Saint François d’Assise. European appointments were soon to follow: Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1988 – 1998) and Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991 – 2000). Nagano became the first Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2003 having already held the position of Principal Conductor for two years. Since 2015, he has been General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, and from 2006 to 2020, he served as Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, of which he was appointed Conductor Emeritus in 2021. Kent Nagano last performed at the Verbier Festival in 2022.