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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.
Mäkelä’s third season as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic features eleven contrasting programmes, with repertoire ranging from Jean Baptiste Lully and Pietro Locatelli to Alban Berg and Mahler to Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Julia Perry. In Autumn 2022, Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic embark on their second European tour with performances in Germany, Belgium and Austria with soloist Sol Gabetta.
For his second season as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris, Klaus Mäkelä has chosen to spotlightcomposers Pascal Dusapin, Betsy Jolas, Jimmy López Bellido, Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho, the latter featured with three different works. There is also a focus on the Ballets Russes, with two key Diaghilev scores: Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Rite of Spring. In Spring 2023, Mäkelä and Orchestre de Paris tour throughout Europe with Janine Jansen as soloist.
With the Concertgebouworkest Klaus Mäkelä embarks on a long-term collaboration, joining the orchestra as Artistic Partner with effect from the 2022-23 season and as its next Chief Conductor in 2027. For their first season together, they perform six programmes including Mahler Symphony No. 6, the Mozart Requiem and Strauss Alpine Symphony as well premieres by López Bellido, Sauli Zinovjev, Alexander Raskatov and Sally Beamish. On tour they performed the opening concert of the Musikfest Berlin and at the Koln Philharmonie.
As a guest conductor in the 2022/23 season Klaus Mäkelä makes his first appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester and Wiener Symphoniker and returns to the USA to conduct the Cleveland Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Mäkelä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski. As a soloist, he has performed with several Finnish orchestras and as a chamber musician at the Verbier Festival, as well as with members of the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
[ahb-drah-ZAH-koff] has established himself as one of opera’s most sought-after basses. Since making his La Scala debut in 2001 at 25, the Russian singer has become a mainstay at leading houses worldwide, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and Munich’s Bavarian State Opera. His powerful yet refined voice coupled with his compelling stage presence have prompted critics to hail him as a “sensational bass…who has just about everything – imposing sound, beautiful legato, oodles of finesse” (The Independent). Also an active concert artist, he has performed at London’s BBC Proms and at New York’s Carnegie Hall, as well as with leading international orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony and Vienna Philharmonic.
Born to Armenian parents in Lyon on April 9, 1957, André Manoukian learned to play the piano and the violin and went to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1977. A classically trained pianist, he became interested in jazz and formed a big band when, in 1983, he discovered the singer Liane Foly, and became her accompanist, songwriter, producer and companion until 1995. His experience as a session musician in song and jazz, alongside Michel Petrucciani, Richard Galliano, Charles Aznavour, Gilbert Bécaud, Diane Dufresne, Nicole Croisille, Dick Rivers, Camille Bazbaz and Malia, led to a place as a juror on the popular TV talent show Nouvelle star (2003-2012), which brought him to the attention of the general public. He founded his own label Va Savoir, under which the instrumental album Inkala (2008) was released, and appeared on television as a presenter and actor. In 2010, the album So in Love brings together jazz standards performed by Anaïs, Camélia Jordana, Helena Noguerra, Emily Loizeau, Cocoon, China Moses and Tété. André Manoukian is a television presenter on La France a un incroyable talent, La Vie secrète des chansons and the Eurovision Song Contest, a radio commentator and founder of the Cosmojazz festival in 2010. He also composes for the cinema and produced the albums Melanchology (2011), Apatride (2017) and Les Pianos de Gainsbourg (2021), which features Melody Gardot, Isabelle Adjani, Rosemary Standley, Élodie Frégé, Camille Lellouche and Camélia Jordana.
“Who do Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock and an extensive list of rock icons have in common? Bill Evans, that’s who.
Evans is a world class saxophonist and producer who made his debut on the international music scene in the 1980’s with Miles Davis (at the age of 21) and recorded 6 records with Davis. This led to touring and recording with the likes of John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock and Mick Jagger to name a few. Today, with 26 solo albums to date, Grammy nods, and countless collaborations and tours, Evans has continued to explore a dazzling variety of adventurous musical settings as a pioneering bandleader, consistently winning fans in the worldwide arena.
Recent highlights include touring and/or performing with his own Bill Evans Band, Robben Ford (Soulgrass meets Blues), Phil Lesh & Friends, The Mike Stern/Bill Evans Band, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Zen Amadeus – the group Bill and drum icon Simon Phillips put together. There were countless sit-ins with The Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes, and a collage of others. Evans spent much of 2016 and 2017 touring the world with the Bill Evans Band in support of his album “Rise Above”.
Bill toured extensively with the Randy Brecker/Bill Evans Soulbop band (formed in 2003) for over 15 years, which incorporated the many influences they both have had in their careers in the Jazz arena. This cooperation produced a live recording called the “Soulbop Band Live“.
Deeply intrigued and ultimately inspired by Jazz, as well as American roots music, Evans wrote, produced and recorded “Soulgrass” in 2005, garnering a Grammy nod in the process. Soulgrass was a breakaway new fusion of jazz and American roots music, blending the banjo, fiddle, mandolin and Dobro, combining the best musicians from Jazz and Americana together. According to Bill “the music and soundscape change, but it’s still me and my saxophone!“ Three more CDs followed in the Soulgrass genre, “The Other Side of Something”, “Dragonfly”, and the 2014 release of “Live in Moscow” recorded during the first of two sold out U.S. State Dept sponsored tours of Russia. Each subsequent release found Bill pushing the musical boundaries of Jazz and Improvisational groove. Says Evans “Miles always told me to write and play what inspires me. I’ve kept true to his advice from the very beginning regardless of the challenges they may create. Miles gave me the confidence to believe in myself as a player and a composer.“
After 10 years of touring and breaking new ground with Soulgrass, in 2015 Bill introduced the “Bill Evans Band”, a hard hitting montage of Contemporary Jazz. The “Bill Evans Band” featured Bill on saxophone/vocals as well as drummer/singer Josh Dion. This band represented a seamless blend of Jazz and groove. Evans was also seen singing on stage for the first time. “People really relate to this band. The Bill Evans Band takes people on a musical journey. For me, that’s the definition of jazz – improvisation and exploration that people can still relate to. It doesn’t have to be mass confusion. I like to connect with the audience and inspire people with new kinds of music you can feel as well as hear.”
“RISE ABOVE” was Bills 2016 release, and his most accessible release to date. On this, his 24th solo offering, Evans explores rich and haunting vocals from special guest singers, including legend Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, JJ Grey, Anders Osborne, Murali Coryell, and Josh Dion. Says Bill, “This recording was an epic journey for me. My vision from the beginning was to record with some of my favorite singers, and co-write music with each one of them. The goal was to still make a cohesive and solid performance out of all this music. It went far beyond my expectations. A sheer pleasure from start to finish!”
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.
Established as one of the finest sopranos of her generation, Anna Caterina won prestigious prizes at the Voci Verdiane, Callas and Pavarotti competitions.
She has been honoured with the ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur’ by the French Republic, which is the highest national distinction one can receive. Her first recording Era la Notte for the Naive label received great acclaim and she has also recorded L’Alba separa dalla luce l’ombra for Wigmore Live, with her pianist Donald Sulzen, featuring songs by Tosti, Cilea, and Hahn.
Scottish cellist Alasdair Tait has performed in many of the world’s major concert halls and is also much sought after as a chamber music coach. He was Head of Chamber Music at Guildhall School of Music until 2016 when he decided to devote his attention to the promotion and career development of young artists through his role as Chief Executive of Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT). He previously held the posts of Director of Chamber Music at the RNCM in Manchester, Artistic Director of the RNCM International Chamber Music Festival, Professor of Chamber Music at the International Chamber Music Institute of the Reina Sofia Conservatoire in Madrid and has been a regular professor on the Britten-Pears International Quartet Academy and the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA). He is frequently invited as jury member on international competitions such as Melbourne, London and Banff International String Quartet Competitions. Most recently he has given masterclasses at the Banff Centre for the Arts and the Glen Gould School in Canada, New England Conservatory and Stanford University in USA, and in Australia, Japan and Singapore as well as throughout Europe.
Alasdair studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester under Emma Ferrand and Ralph Kirshbaum and at the Musik Akademie in Basel, Switzerland, with Thomas Demenga. On returning to the UK in 1998, Alasdair joined the Belcea Quartet and was its cellist until 2006. During this time he has performed around the world with tours to Australia and New Zealand, the Far East, North and South America as well as throughout Europe and at some of the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Köln Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Chatelet, Cité de la Musique, Frankfurt Alte Oper and the Casals Hall in Tokyo. For five years the quartet was Resident Quartet at Wigmore Hall, a position which also included regular education work. As a member of the Belcea Quartet Alasdair has recorded for EMI CD’s of Schubert, Brahms, Britten, Mozart, Fauré and Barber and collaborated with Ian Bostridge, Thomas Ades, Thomas Kakushka and Jonathan Lemalu. Their disc of Debussy, Ravel and Duttilleux quartets won a Gramaphone Award and an earlier recording of Janacek was awarded a Diapason d’Or in France. As well as being one of the first groups to participate in the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme, the quartet were also twice recipients of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Awards for Chamber Music Ensemble.
Alasdair has participated in many of the world’s important festivals including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Schubertiade, Risør, Delft, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Bath, performing alongside artists including Piotr Andrezewski, Christian Zacharias, Kathryn Stott, Imogen Cooper, Aleksander Madzar, Robert Levin, Isabelle van Keulen, Alexander Janicek, Valentin Erben, Borodin Quartet, Heinz Holliger, Michael Collins, Simon Keenlyside, Dame Anne Murray and Christine Schäfer.
He is currently a council member for Aldeburgh Music, a trustee for the Ann Driver Trust, and previously was a Governor for Live Music Now UK and founder board member of the European Chamber Music Teachers Association. In 2013 he was made a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy for his contribution to excellence in Teaching and Learning. In 2016, Alasdair was awarded the ABO (Association of British Orchestras) Artist Manager of the Year.
Alasdair is also a psychodynamic psychotherapist in private practice in London, registered with BPC, and FPC.
Since a decisive concert with the Berlin Philharmonic 30 years ago, Alban Gerhardt has never ceased to express an extraordinary musical appetite, even in contemporary creation. He brings research and freshness to a constantly evolving repertoire for an audience that is sometimes far from the concert hall. While his projects have led him to perform in schools and hospitals, the cellist does not hesitate to make transdisciplinarity one of his spearheads, notably through the Love in Fragments project, alongside violist Gergana Gergova, choreographer Sommer Ulrickson and sculptor Alexander Polzin. His recording of Unsuk Chin’s Cello Concerto for Deutsche Grammophon received the BBC Music Magazine Award. Gehardt plays a Matteo Gofriller from 1710.