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Celso Antunes (Ireland & Germany)
"Antunes knows what he wants to hear in Mozart... And he showed he knows that rarest of arts: how to make the contributions in a perspective that always makes musical sense... He secured performances that were high on illumination, getting inside the music, as it were..."Michael Dervan, Irish Times For the last fourteen years, the Cologne-based conductor Celso Antunes has been highly active on the European concert scene. His engagements have included appearances at the Flanders Festival, the Düsseldorf Altstadherbst Festival, the Cologne MusikTriennale, the Kurt-Weill-Festival in Dessau and the Living Music Festival in Dublin. Working regularly with choirs and orchestras all over Europe, Mr Antunes has attained success with his interpretations of a wide musical repertoire, stretching from the choral music of Monteverdi, Gesualdo and Orazio Vecchi, through 18th- and 19th-century orchestral classics to the music of the present day, of which he is a devoted advocate. Since May 2002, Antunes is the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the National Chamber Choir of Ireland in Dublin. And in August 2004, Antunes has been bestowed the honour of the Order of Rio Branco, in the rank of Commander, by the Brazilian government, for the extraordinary artistic services rendered to his native Brazil. Mr. Antunes is increasingly in demand as a guest conductor, appearing with the Cappella Istropolitana Bratislava, the WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gurzenich Orchestra Koln, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra in Riga, the Radio Sinfonieorchester NDR Hannover and, more recently, with the RTECO (Dublin) and with the Ulster Orchestra (Belfast). He also returns annually to conduct in Brazil, where he appears with the Camerata Fukuda and with the Säo Paulo State Symphony. His busy schedule in the season 05/06 also includes return visits to the Ulster Orchestra (in March 2006, Dvorak/Haydn), to the RPO Hannover (in April and September 2006, Mozart) and his debut conducting the Ensemble Modern in Dublin (Steve Reich) and the Gürzenich Chamber Orchestra at the Philharmonie in Essen (Poulenc, Respighi and Haydn). He also works regularly with choirs such as the NDR Chor Hamburg, the Prager Kammerchor and more recently with the BBC Singers: he has scheduled return visits to London this season, both in May and in October." "Antunes has proved an inspired choice over the last two years: under his direction, the National Chamber Choir has developed into an ensemble of top international standard!" Ian Fox, The Sunday Tribune Celso Antunes began his musical training in Brazil. Born in 1959, he studied singing and conducting at the University of Säo Paulo. He quickly achieved recognition as assistant conductor of the Säo Paulo Youth Symphony Orchestra. Subsequently, Mr Antunes obtained a DAAD scholarship to complete his studies on at the Musikhochschule Köln in Germany, where he graduated in 1990. Following his debut with the Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Mr Antunes was appointed its Chief Conductor, a post he held from 1994 until 1998. As an exponent of contemporary music, Mr Antunes's activities achieved a strong focus during his period as Chief Conductor of the Antwerp-based ensemble Champ d'Action (1994-97), with whom he gave numerous world premieres. Another highlight of Mr Antunes's career was the premiere of a newly re-constructed version of Kurt Weill's ballet-pantomime, Die Zaubernacht (1922) at the Köln MusikTriennale: conducting Ensemble Contrasts, he has recorded the work as a CD for Delta-Capriccio. After his recent successful debut with Opera Theatre Company, conducting Britten's "Turn of the Screw", Mr Antunes's future engagements will include: a new production of Verdi's "Giovanna d'Arco"for the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, as well as his debut with the Säo Paulo Municipal Symphony Orchestra. "Performing pieces by Pauset, Vásks and Veress under Celso Antunes, the choir achieved a powerful impact in music of great difficulty and complexity ..." Michael Dungan, Irish Times. www.sydneychildrenschoir.com.au/director.htm [ top ] © Festival 500 Designed by AppleCore Interactive |
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