- Accordi Musicali
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Epifanio Comis was student of Boris Petrushansky, Lazar Berman and Pietro Rattalino. He has toured as a soloist throughout Europe, Asia, Russia, and the United States. He has performed with numerous world class orchestras including the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra of Bucharest, the Karlovy Vary Symfonic Orchestra, the Tulare County Symphony Orchestra of California, the Orquestra Sinfonica UANL, Catania Massimo Bellini Theatre Orchestra, Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, the Osaka Symphoniker, the Kyoto Symphony. His recitals in the USA and Asia have brought him great critical acclaim.
Epifanio Comis gives masterclasses in important academies and universities like Manhattan School of Music, Chopin Academy Warsaw, Royal Conservatoire Mons, Ecole Normale in Paris, Tchaikovsky Conservatory Moscow and Bucarest Music Academy. He performed in prestigeous halls such as Discoteca di Stato di Roma, Catania Massimo Bellini Theatre, Sala delle Erbe di Milano, Steinway Hall in New York, Symphony Hall in Osaka, Carnegie Hall in New York and many others. Comis is also active as a conductor. Last concerts he conducted are Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos, Rhapsody and the Second Symphony with Catania Massimo Bellini Theatre Orchestra in Catania and in Moscow.
Conservatory in Moscow to study with Mstislav ROSTROPOVITCH, his master and teacher.
Recently appointed as Associate Principal Conductor at Teatro Goldoni Livorno, Eric Lederhandler is now developing his musical activities in Italy (Orchestra di San Remo , Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana , Orchestra Metropolitana di Bari , .....)
Eric Lederhandler made his debut with Orchestre Philarmonique Royal de Liège in January 2020.
First foreign conductor to be appointed as Music Director with a symphonic orchestra in China, Eric Lederhandler was recently appointed to this function at the Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra (Nanking). He is nominated until March 2014. Eric Lederhandler was born in 1965 in Uccle, Belgium. After studying the piano at music school, he entered the Conservatoire of Brussels where he studied the harpsichord, chamber music and the complete study of composing and writing music. He also completed his choir conducting diploma. Eric Lederhandler attained the top level of the “Wiener Meisterkurse für Dirigenten” under the direction of Salvador Mas Conde. This allowed him to conduct at the “Grosser Sendesaal” of the “ORF Funkhaus” (Austrian National Broadcasting Corporation) in Vienna.
Vahan Mardirossian was born in Armenia and graduated with distinction from the Paris Conservatory in 1996. He enjoys a flourishing career as both conductor and piano soloist. For many years he was the Principal Conductor of the Caen Symphony Orchestra in France and Music Director of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (NCOA). Starting from the 2019/2020 season he is the chief conductor of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Simultaneously starting from 2020 he is the Musical Director of Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie.
Vahan Mardirossian is invited regularly as a guest conductor in Europe and Asia. His past engagements include concerts with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire, the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Chamber Soloists, the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, the “Amalgam” Orchestra (comprising select musicians from the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra and the SWR Baden-Baden Freiburg Symphony Orchestra), the Toulon Opera Orchestra, the orchestras of Douai and Cannes in France and the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. After a hugely successful debut with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014, he was invited to conduct the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2014/2015 season. During the same season he conducted the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Real Orquestra Sinfonica de Sevilla, Philharmonie Südwestfalen and the Bulgarian National Orchestra. In 2017 he performed a piano recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall, led the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine on a tour of Japan performing Dvorak’s Symphony No.9 and returned to conduct the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Suntory Hall. From 2016 to 2018 he gave his conducting debuts with the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Colonne, the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra and the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra. In 2018 he conducted City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong at the Le French May Arts Festival and toured with the orchestra giving several concerts at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. In 2019 he conducted the Philharmonie Südwestfalen and the Verdi Concert Choir Japan in Verdi’s Requiem at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and recorded a CD with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
From Livorno, he graduated in violin in 1985 at the Pietro Mascagni Music Institute in Livorno, playing violinist activities both in orchestral formations as a shoulder violin and as a soloist. In 2002 he began his career as a conductor, with a wide lyrical repertoire with particular reference to Pietro Mascagni and realism. His repertoire includes many works, including: Silvano, CD produced by KiccoMusic, Amica, Messa di Gloria, Cavalleria rusticana, Pinotta, L'Amico Fritz and the Piccolo Marat by Mascagni, Pagliacci by Leoncavallo, Carmen by Bizet, Rigoletto and La traviata by Verdi, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutti by Mozart, Britten's Little Chimney Sweep, Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore, Giordano's Andrea Chénier, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Puccini's La Fanciulla del west. He has written two lyric parodies: Mimì and the Others and Bacchus, tobacco and opera represented in numerous Italian theaters and has composed libretto and part of the music of the pop opera Il Puss in Boots, published by Sillabe Editore and of Cenerentola - the opera pop. He is the author of the opera "Twelve years after" sequel to Cavalleria rusticana which debuted in Sicily in 2021 and this year at the Cluj theater. A film intended for cinemas is currently being made of the work. He also wrote "De relitti e delle quarantene", a comic opera entirely created with the participation of singers and musicians through the use of mobile phones, during the Lock-down. Since 2020 he is general manager of the Goldoni Theater in Livorno.
Born in South of Italy, she began her studies on the piano. Then she graduated in Composition, Orchestra Conducting and also in Literature and music history with a thesis on Luciano Berio.
She holds a master’s degree in onducting under the guidance of Jorma Panula, Bruno Bartoletti, Lu-Jia, Alain Lombard, Donato Renzetti e Piero Bellugi.
She has performed in venues like Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Wien, Esterazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Smetana Hall in Prague, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Surayya Opera in Istanbul. She collaborated with artists like Calogero Palermo, Omar Tomasoni, Carlo Parazzoli, Silvia Careddu, Patrick Messina, Sergey Galaktionov, Davide Alogna, Marco Rizzi, Anna Serova, Roman Spitzer, Emanuele Silvestri, Gernot Süßmuth, Felix Schwarz.
In 2018 she was nominated as Music Director of AYSO Orchestra, a youth orchestra composed by about 70 musicians from all over Italy; in just a few years AYSO has become a national reference point and a valuable trait d'union between academic training and the world of professional orchestras.
She recently led AYSO to win first prize at International Summa Cum Laude Festival in Wien against orchestras from all over the world.
Artistic Director of the Mozart Collegium Vienna and Music Director of the concert series Schwingungen in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein, originates from a well-known Viennese family of musicians.
Christian Schulz started his career as a cellist and performed as a chamber musician and soloist and recently was engaged with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Together with musicians from the Vienna Symphony he found the Ambassade Orchestra Vienna and leads this orchestra as their Chief Conductor. He was Music Assistant of F. Welser Möst, Vladimir Fedosejev and Yakov Kreizberg. The list of orchestras directed by him has meanwhile grown considerably, ranging from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the Tonkuenstler Orchestra NÖ, the George Enescu Philharmonic Bucarest, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the State Philharmonic Orchestra Halle, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra up to chamber orchestras like the Austro-Hungarien Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra and the Konzert Verein Wien.
Since 2001 he conducted every year concerts as well as opera productions at the Bregenz Festival.
Highlight of opera engagements were the Magic Flute Premiere at the Vienna Volksoper 2007/2008, Don Carlos at the Arad New Opera Productions and the Little Vixen, Protagonist and Royal Palace in 2003, 2004 and 2008 at the Bregenz Festival.
“Giving space to music” runs like a thread through Nabil Shehata's life, both literally and figuratively. As a nine-year-old, the double bass opens the door to, in his words, “the most beautiful repertoire there is” – namely that of classical music. As a young person, he feels the growing desire to be involved in this music as a conductor. Shehata follows this impulse, gives up his position as principal bass player of the Berliner Philharmoniker, and has since successfully embarked on a career as a conductor. A critic recently wrote that he conducts with “authority full of ease” an observation that corresponds precisely with what Shehata is aiming for. “It is about resonating with each other. This is what creates music. This is what I want to achieve with orchestras”. Shehata has developed a conducting style that is closely related to chamber music making, because he is convinced that “this is how music is created that can achieve what audiences, orchestras, and conductors alike desire: unforgettable concert experiences!”.
Armenian conductor Sergey Smbatyan is the Founding Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra performing internationally to great acclaim. Under Smbatyan’s artistic direction, its players are energetic, enthusiastic musicians with the shared objective of raising cultural awareness in Armenia and pursuing spiritual excellence through classical music.
Smbatyan has presented the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the Malta Philharmonic throughout Europe, Russia and the United States. Performances include Vienna’s Musikverein, the Berlin Philharmonie, Salzburg’s Großes Festspielhaus, London’s Barbican Centre, the Gasteig Munich, Rudolfinum in Prague, Grand Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory and New York’s Carnegie Hall where he made his debut at the age of 28.
The 2022-23 highlight includes touring with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the Romanian National Philharmonic Orchestra in the United Kingdom in a series of venues including Cadogan Hall, London; Usher Hall, Edinburgh; Bridgewater Hall, Manchester; Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.
Born in Yerevan, Smbatyan was first introduced to music by his grandmother, the violinist and teacher Tatyana Hayrapetyan, who gave him violin lessons from an early age. He later studied at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan and the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, receiving lessons from Bagrat Vardanyan and Zakhar Bron. Whilst studying for a PhD in Fine Arts in Yerevan with Yuri Davtyan, Smbatyan developed his passion and conducting skills working with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra which he founded aged 18. As a conductor, Smbatyan has been significantly influenced by his lessons with Riccardo Muti and Sir Colin Davis which he undertook during his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
John Warner is Founder and Artistic Director of Orchestra for the Earth, Music Director of Oxford Opera, and has conducted orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic. He also regularly assists conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Daniel Harding, working with the Orchestre de Paris, Dresden Staatskapelle, Wiener Symponiker and others. Other recent invitations have included Het Concertgebouw’s Mahler Festival in Amsterdam, British Youth Opera and King’s Place. He has participated in masterclasses with Marin Alsop and was a Britten Pears Young Artist 2020.
His pioneering work with Orchestra for the Earth takes him across Europe for a wide variety of concerts that bring together music and nature, collaborating with leading environmental artists, scientists and charities, as well as a range of soloists including Thomas Hampson. Together they are regular guests at festivals such as the Richard Strauss Festival Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Gustav Mahler Musikwochen Toblach and the Gustav Mahler Festival Steinbach am Attersee, where they have set up a new nature reserve in Mahler’s name.
