Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Gulbenkian Orchestra / Giancarlo Guerrero
Performers
- Conductor
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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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Giancarlo Guerrero
Conductor
Giancarlo Guerrero is a six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor and Music Director of the Nashville Symphony. Guerrero has been praised for his “charismatic conducting and attention to detail” (Seattle Times) in “viscerally powerful performances” (Boston Globe) that are “at once vigorous, passionate, and nuanced” (BachTrack).
Through commissions, recordings, and world premieres, Guerrero has championed the works of prominent American composers. He has led the Nashville Symphony in eleven world premieres and fifteen recordings of American music, including works by Michael Daugherty, Terry Riley and Jonathan Leshnoff, and most recently the GRAMMY® nominated recording of John Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives & Harmonielehre.
As part of his commitment to fostering the work of contemporary composers, Guerrero, together with composer Aaron Jay Kernis, guided the creation of Nashville Symphony’s biannual Composer Lab & Workshop for young and emerging composers.
In the 2023-24 season, Guerrero returns to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in their joint concert with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He also returns to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Guerrero has also appeared in recent seasons with prominent North American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and those of Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Montréal, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Houston. Internationally he has worked with the Deutches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Netherlands Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Deutsches Radio Philharmonie and Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, as well as the Sydney Symphony and Queensland Symphony in Australia. Guerrero was honored as the keynote speaker at the 2019 League of American Orchestras conference.
Guerrero recently completed a six-season tenure as Music Director of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. With that orchestra, Guerrero made three recordings including the Billboard chart-topping Bomsori: Violin on Stage on Deutsche Grammophon and albums of repertoire by Brahms, Poulenc and Jongen. Guerrero previously held posts as the Principal Guest Conductor of both The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency and the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, Music Director of the Eugene Symphony, and Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra.
Born in Nicaragua, Guerrero immigrated during his childhood to Costa Rica, where he joined the local youth symphony. He studied percussion and conducting at Baylor University in Texas and earned his master’s degree in conducting at Northwestern. Given his beginnings in civic youth orchestras, Guerrero is particularly engaged with conducting training orchestras and has worked with the Curtis School of Music, Colburn School in Los Angeles, National Youth Orchestra (NYO2) and Yale Philharmonia, as well as with the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program, which provides an intensive music education to promising young students from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Programme
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade, op. 35