Dvořák's Cello Concerto
Gulbenkian Orchestra
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Date
- 20:00 / Cancelled 20:00 / Sold out Thursday, 20:00
- 19:00 / Cancelled 19:00 / Sold out Friday, 19:00
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation- Conductor
- Cello
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Gulbenkian Orchestra
In 1962, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation decided to establish a permanent orchestral ensemble. Originally with only twelve musicians (strings and continuo) it was named “Orquestra de Câmara Gulbenkian”. This collective was successively enlarged and today the “Orquestra Gulbenkian” (the name it has adopted since 1971) has a permanent body of sixty instrumentalists, a number that can be expanded depending on the repertoire.
This structure allows the Gulbenkian Orchestra to interpret works from the Baroque and Classical periods, a significant part of 19th century orchestral literature and much of the music of the 20th century, including works belonging to the current repertoire of the traditional symphonic orchestras. In each season, the orchestra performs on a regular series of concerts at the Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium in Lisbon, where it has had the opportunity of working together with some of leading names of the world of music (conductors and soloists). It has also performed on numerous locations all over Portugal, in an effort to decentralize music and culture.
The orchestra has been constantly expanding its activities in the international level, performing in Europe, Asia Africa, and the Americas. In the recording field, Orquestra Gulbenkian is associated to labels as Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Teldec, Erato, Adès, Nimbus, Lyrinx, Naïve and Pentatone, among others, and this activity was recognized with several international prizes.
Hannu Lintu is the Music Director of the Gulbenkian Orchestra since 2023.
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Nuno Coelho
Conductor
Portuguese conductor Nuno Coelho is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA), a position he has held since 2022. He has established an international reputation conducting leading orchestras across a broad repertoire, both in concert and opera.
Highlights of Coelho’s 2026/27 calendar include returns to Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Symphoniker Hamburg, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Gulbenkian Orchestra, alongside debuts with Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Tonkünstler-Orchester at Vienna’s Musikverein.
In Asturias, he completes his tenure as Chief Conductor, opening the season with Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé which culminates in performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Other projects in the season include a puppet theatre production of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and collaborations with leading soloists including Alban Gerhardt, Alina Ibragimova, Pablo Ferrández, Alena Baeva and Yulianna Avdeeva.
Recent engagements with orchestras have included Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Coelho has established a strong presence in opera. His work with Gulbenkian includes a semi-staged Così fan tutte and José Saramago’s reimagining of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, projects that reflect his interest in connecting musical repertoire with wider cultural and literary perspectives. Other opera credits include La traviata, Cavalleria rusticana, Rusalka and Manon, as well as Lemi Ponifasio’s staging of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Britten Sinfonia at the Barbican Centre. In December 2026 he returns to Ópera de Oviedo for Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.
Passionate about supporting the next generation of musicians, Coelho is Founder and Artistic Director of the Mondego International Music Academy (MIMA) which brings established artists together to mentor young composers, conductors and instrumentalists. He has also conducted Spain’s National Youth Orchestra (JONDE) on tour, including performances at Konzerthaus Berlin and the Rheingau Musik Festival, and in summer 2026 he conducted the Netherlands Youth Orchestra at the Concertgebouw.
Coelho won First Prize at the 2017 Cadaqués International Conducting Competition and was a Los Angeles Philharmonic Dudamel Fellow in 2018/19. His early career included two summers as a Tanglewood Conducting Fellow, two years as Assistant Conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic, the Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, and he was also a member of the German Music Council’s Dirigentenforum.
Born in Porto and trained as a violinist, Coelho studied conducting at the Zürich University of the Arts with Johannes Schlaefli. Beyond music, he has a particular interest in literature and tennis.
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Maximilian Hornung
Cello
Maximilian Hornung is regarded as one of the most remarkable cellists on the international stage. “An exceptional soloist, with a powerful, broad and beautiful sound, impeccable technique [and] immense musicality” (Scherzo), he is oft-praised not only for his technical mastery and versatility, but also for his extraordinary depth of tone, boundless range of colours, and natural sophistication. In addition to much-loved core repertoire, Hornung carries an impressive and wide-ranging catalogue, and devotes himself to lesser-known cello masterpieces and newer works.
In the 2026-27 season, Hornung performs with orchestras including the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Gulbenkian, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and Kammerakademie Potsdam. In summer 2026 he also makes his BBC Proms debut with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Adam Hickox.
Previous orchestral highlights include his recent and highly acclaimed debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, as well as performances with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Symphoniker, Swedish Radio Symphony, London Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic and Orchestre National de France. Hornung has worked with a number of today’s leading conductors, including Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézét-Séguin, Paavo Järvi, Marie Jacquot, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Zinman, Lorenzo Viotti, Pablo Heras-Casado, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Antonello Manacorda, John Storgårds, Michael Francis, Thomas Søndergård, Krzysztof Urbański, Thomas Guggeis, Andrew Manze and Robin Ticciati. In recent years, Hornung has also established himself as a soloist and conductor, and regularly directs projects, most recently with the Münchner Symphoniker.
As a recitalist, Hornung is a regular guest at world-class venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, as well as festivals including Salzburg, Rheingau, Lucerne, Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Ravinia, and Hong Kong. His chamber music partners include Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lisa Batiashvili, Julia Fischer, Antje Weithaas, Hélène Grimaud, Daniil Trifonov, François Leleux, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, Vilde Frang and Denis Kozhukhin.
Hornung’s extensive discography spans solo performances and collaborations with prominent chamber musicians. He received an ECHO Klassik Prize in both 2011 for his debut album Jump! (Sony, 2010) and again in 2012 for his recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Bamberger Symphoniker under the direction of Sebastian Tewinkel (Sony, 2012). Further recordings include Richard Strauss’ major cello works with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Bernard Haitink (Sony, 2014) and Joseph Haydn’s cello concerti with the Kammerakademie Potsdam under Antonello Manacorda (Sony, 2015). In 2017, Deutsche Grammophon released a highly acclaimed recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet in which Hornung performed together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov, among others. In 2018, myrios classics released his recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2 and Sulkhan Tsintsadze’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Andris Poga. Further recordings have been released on Genuin, Linn Records, NEOS, Bridge Records, and CPO. This season, Hornung prepares for the release of a new album under Pentatone with long-term recital partner Hisako Kawamura.
Born in Augsburg in 1986, Hornung began his cello studies at the age of 8, receiving considerable training from Eldar Issakadze, Thomas Grossenbacher, and David Geringas. Until 2011, he served as cellist of the Tecchler Trio, winning First Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in 2007. At the age of only 23, he was appointed first principal cellist of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, a position that he held until 2013. Hornung has been supported and sponsored by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London and his mentor Anne-Sophie Mutter. Since 2022, he has been Artistic Director of the Traunsteiner Sommerkonzerte.
Andreia Pinto Correia
Antonín Dvořák
Charles Ives
Maximilian Hornung is one of today’s most remarkable cellists, thanks to the combination of impeccable technique and a sound that moves masterfully through a vast palette of colours. Public recognition of his talent began with two consecutive ECHO Klassik Awards, in 2011 and 2012: the first for his debut album and the second for his recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor. It is to this captivating work, one of the Czech composer’s final creations during his stay in New York, that he now returns in this performance with the Gulbenkian Orchestra and conductor Nuno Coelho.
Photo © Julia Wesely
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