American Conductor James Gaffigan Appointed as the First-Ever Principal Guest Conductor of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne

By -
The Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne , Germany today announced that U.S. conductor James Gaffigan will become its first Principal Guest Conductor at the start of the 2012/13 season. In addition to annual concerts, this newly created position will entail CD recording projects and conducting opera productions with the Opera of Cologne Oper Köln.

This is the third European appointment for 33-year-old Mr. Gaffigan who assumed the positions of Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011. Throughout the current season, Mr. Gaffigan has made numerous prominent U.S. orchestral debuts and he makes his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic this week, on Friday, March 30 at 8:00PM at Walt Disney Concert Hall, leading a program of Respighi’s Trittico Botticelliano, Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite and Grieg’s Piano Concerto with André Watts.

Mr. Gaffigan says he accepted the Gürzenich Orchestra invitation without hesitation: “There are few orchestras that are equally skilled at playing both concert and operatic repertoire - the Gürzenich Orchestra is one of them. Their operatic playing gives them a flexibility that excites me and inspires me as a conductor and collaborator. I felt an instant chemistry with this group from our first meeting and I anticipate being able to develop a musical relationship with them.”

Mr. Gaffigan made his debut as a fill-in guest with the Gürzenich Orchestra in the 2007/08 season, conducting a French program. In the 2009/2010 season he made a lasting impression with such works as Shostakovich’s 1st Symphony and Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture. Markus Stenz, the Gürzenich Orchestra’s Music Director and General Music Director of the City of Cologne , has welcomed Mr. Gaffigan’s acceptance of the post: “I am delighted that another international conductor will now be working regularly with the Gürzenich Orchestra. During his previous performances in Cologne , he has created enormous enthusiasm with his skilful and highly energetic conducting of the orchestra. He conveyed his passion not just to the orchestra, but to the audience as well. A Principal Guest Conductor can build on and deepen such experiences, which is hugely productive in terms of musical quality. James Gaffigan is well-versed both in opera and on the concert platform. This means he can take on projects in all areas of the Gürzenich Orchestra’s activities: symphonic concerts, CD recordings and opera productions. James Gaffigan is thus an ideal person for the newly created position of Principal Guest Conductor with the Gürzenich Orchestra.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more