Penderecki's Violin Concerto No. 2
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 FoundationThis concert concert will be broadcast live here on 30 January, at 19:00 (GMT).
Pricing
25% – Under 30
10% – Over 65
Cartão Gulbenkian:
50% – Under 30
20% – Over 65
10% – 30 to 65
- Conductor
- Violin
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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.
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Lorenzo Viotti
Conductor
Lorenzo Viotti has established himself as one of the most compelling conductors of his generation, acclaimed for his charismatic presence, emotional depth, and remarkable versatility across both symphonic and operatic repertoire.
The 2025/26 season sees him on major stages around the world, including performances with the Vienna Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the Filarmonica della Scala, with whom he continues a fruitful collaboration. He also appears with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, where he served as Chief Conductor until 2025. In Asia, he returns to Japan with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra ahead of becoming its Music Director in the 2026/27 season.
A passionate opera conductor, Viotti debuts at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia with Faust, and returns to Zurich Opera for Die Fledermaus and to the Vienna State Opera for Puccini’s Il Trittico. His tenure as Chief Conductor of Dutch National Opera (2021–2025) featured critically acclaimed productions such as Peter Grimes, the Amsterdam premiere of Die Fledermaus and a three years Puccini cycle in collaboration with director Barrie Kosky.
He has previously led productions at Teatro alla Scala, the Paris Opera, Zurich Opera, and the Semperoper Dresden, while his symphonic collaborations include engagements with the Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Cleveland Orchestra, and many others.
Born in Lausanne into a Franco-Italian family of musicians, Viotti studied piano, singing, and percussion in Lyon before continuing his conducting studies in Vienna and Weimar. He rose to international prominence after winning several major competitions, including the Nestlé Young Conductors Award at the Salzburg Festival, the MDR Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition, and the Cadaqués International Conducting Competition. In 2017, he was named “Newcomer of the Year” at the International Opera Awards.
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Diana Tishchenko
Violin
The 1st Grand Prix winner at the legendary Long-Thibaud-Crespin International Competition in Paris, the Ukrainian born violinist Diana Tishchenko was recently appointed Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, recognizing her outstanding contribution to the arts. Following her nomination as an ECHO Rising Star, she performed in 20 of Europe’s leading concert halls including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Luxembourg Philharmonie, and Vienna Konzerthaus, among others.
Diana began her international performing career at a young age. She joined the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra as a violinist at 18 and, by 20, became its youngest concertmaster in history, collaborating with esteemed conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Franz Welser-Möst, Herbert Blomstedt, Antonio Pappano, and Daniele Gatti. This early leadership experience demonstrated her exceptional musical maturity and set the foundation for her future international career.
Diana has collaborated with renowned conductors including Iván Fischer, Lahav Shani, Andrew Litton, and Joshua Weilerstein, and performed with prestigious ensembles such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Berlin Baroque Soloists, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. She has appeared at major festivals such as the Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, La Folle Journée in Nantes and Tokyo, the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, and the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades.
Her violin studies began with her aunt in Simferopol before continuing at Kyiv’s Specialized Music School for Gifted Children. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees under Ulf Wallin at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, where she later served as his assistant, and pursued further solo studies with Boris Kuschnir at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. She has also been strongly influenced by Gidon Kremer and pianists Sir András Schiff, Rita Wagner, and Ferenc Rados.
Her debut album, Strangers in PARadISe (Warner Classics, 2019) recorded with pianist Zoltán Fejérvári, received wide critical acclaim. BBC Music Magazine awarded it five stars, Gramophone praised her “genuinely distinctive, individual voice” and “beauty of tone, polish, and range of colours,” while Le Figaro called it “an album that confirms the astonishing maturity of the artist.”
Diana is deeply committed to social and cultural initiatives. She has performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the European Union Youth Orchestra for the World Human Forum’s environmental initiative The Uncertain Four Seasons, which was streamed live on ARTE and named “Best Filmed Concert of 2022” at the Prague Film Festival. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, she has devoted herself to numerous charity concerts across Europe, including performances at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Opéra de Bordeaux, Opéra de Nice, Philharmonie Berlin, and the G7 Summit in Bonn.
Highlights of the 2025/26 season include her return to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, performances with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, a concert at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and an appearance at the Konzerthaus Berlin with Iván Fischer, as well as leading festival performances including the West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
Diana is currently based in Berlin and holds both Ukrainian and German citizenship, carrying her heritage with her wherever she performs.
Krzysztof Penderecki
Violin Concerto No. 2, Metamorphosen
— Intermission of 20 min. —Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Sinfonietta, in B major, op. 5
Total approximate duration: 1h 50 min.
Lorenzo Viotti, former Chief Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, returns to the Grand Auditorium to conduct two major pieces from the 20th century. Penderecki’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2, Metamorphoses, winner of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition, is one of the Polish composer’s most fascinating creations and a demanding emotional journey that will be performed by the prodigious and expressive soloist Diana Tishchenko. In addition, Korngold’s Sinfonietta is the first unequivocal example of the composer’s precocious genius, written when he was just 15 years old.
Sponsor Gulbenkian Music
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