Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Choir & Markus Stenz
Biography Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Choir & Markus Stenz
Markus Stenz
Having trained at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne
with Volker Wangenheim and in Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa, the German conductor Markus Stenz soon made his mark in special projects and many (op- era) premieres. For some years he was chief conductor of respectively the Montepulciano Festival, London Sinfonietta, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Gürzenich- Orchester and Oper Köln. Stenz is chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Besides his regular commitments, Stenz is in great demand as a guest con- ductor worldwide. He has also built up a wide-ranging and award-winning discography. He is considered a prominent champion of the music of Hans Werner Henze, a number of whose operas he premiered. Last but not least are his much- acclaimed performances of Mahler and Wagner.
Aga Mikolaj
The Polish soprano Aga Mikolaj studied with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and was a soloist with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich until 2007. Besides many leading roles in operas by Mozart, she has appeared in works by Wagner and Richard Strauss at the Paris Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Glyndebourne Festival, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen under Daniel Barenboim in a coproduction by the Staatsoper Berlin and La Scala Milan, and made a successful debut at the BBC Proms in 2013. Her awards include the audience prize and G.F. Handel Award at the 41st International Vocal Competition in ’s-Hertogenbosch in 1996.
Ursula Hesse von den Steinen
born in Cologne, studied at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin and followed masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Christa Ludwig and Aribert Reimann. As a member of the soloists’ ensemble at the Semperoper Dresden she built up her repertoire as a mezzo-soprano, and invitations soon followed from the Dutch National Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels and the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. Ursula Hesse von den Steinen became known for her roles as Marie in Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Fricka in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and for roles in modern operas including Die Tragödie des Teufels by Peter Eötvös. Her repertoire ranges from Johann Sebastian Bach to Jörg Widmann.
Gerhard Siegel
commenced his musical career as an instrumentalist and composer. After studying voice at the conservatory of Augsburg he joined the opera company of Theater Trier. His subsequent engagement at the Staatstheater Nürnberg gave him the opportunity to sing heroic tenor roles. Since 2006 the German tenor appears as a guest soloist on the stages of European and American opera houses, where one of his favourite roles is that of Mime in Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Siegfried.
Christof Fischesser
grew up in a musical family and studied at the conservatory of Frankfurt am Main. He began his opera career with the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe and until 2015 was a member of the Zurich Opera ensemble. Christof Fischesser has appeared as Figaro in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and as Heinrich der Vogler in Wagner’s Lohengrin in the great opera houses of London, Vienna, Paris, Lyon, Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Houston and Chicago. The German bass is a frequent guest on the international concert stage and at festivals including Salzburg and Aix-en- Provence.
David Wilson-Johnson
was born in Northampton, England. He studied modern languages at Cambridge and voice at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He made his opera debut in Henze’s We Come to the River with the Royal Opera in 1976, the stage on which he was to sing frequently for twenty-one years in all sorts of operas, including Britten’s Billy Budd, Stravinsky’s Le rossignol, Musorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Puccini’s Turandot and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Così fan tutte. In 2006 he decided to end his opera career and focus exclusively on concert repertoire.
Netherlands Radio Choir
Made up of sixty vocalists, the Netherlands Radio Choir is the largest professional choir in the country. Since it was founded in 1945, the choir has built up a broad repertoire, commissioned works from Dutch composers including Wagemans and Visman, and given premieres of works by such international composers as MacMillan, Henze and Adams. The choir also programmes ‘classic’ twentieth- century compositions, opera, and works from the Romantic repertoire. It is closely connected with the Dutch public broadcasting corporation (Nederlandse Publieke Omroep), and can be heard in a number of NPO series. In addition to its work with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Choir is regularly invited to perform with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Klaas Stok was named choir director starting in the 2015–16 season. Michael Gläser was appointed principal guest conductor in September 2010.
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
is lauded by the most authoritative international critics as one of the world’s greatest orchestras. Known for its unique sound and stylistic flexibility, it has worked with all the leading composers and conductors. Indeed, such composers as Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky conducted the orchestra on more than one occasion. Only seven chief conductors have led the orchestra since it was founded in 1888: Willem Kes, Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Mariss Jansons and – since the 2016–17 season – Daniele Gatti. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Academy provides instruction in orchestral playing to young, talented musicians. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra undertook an extensive world tour in 2013 on the occasion of its 125th anniversary. Her Royal Highness Queen Máxima is the orchestra’s patron.
