Schumann: Concerto for Piano
Gulbenkian Orchestra / Giancarlo Guerrero / Denis Kozhukin
Performers
- Conductor
- Piano
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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 whose imaginative programming and “curatorial and interpretive creativity” (Chicago Tribune) draw out of his orchestras “exceptionally powerful and enchanting performances” (BBC Music Magazine).
The 2024-25 season marks Guerrero’s sixteenth and final season as Music Director of the Nashville Symphony, with whom he commissioned and premiered nearly two dozen pieces and released twenty-one commercial recordings, garnering thirteen GRAMMY® nominations and six GRAMMY® Awards. Guerrero will serve as Music Director Designate of Sarasota Orchestra in 2024-25 and becomes Music Director in the 2025-26 season.
Guerrero has been a frequent guest conductor in North America, performing with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the orchestras of Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Montréal, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Houston. Internationally he has led orchestras in Germany, London, Spain, Portugal, France, Brazil, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia.
Guerrero made several recordings with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic – where he served as Music Director for six seasons – including the Billboard chart-topping Bomsori: Violin on Stage on Deutsche Grammophon. He has also held posts as Principal Guest Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra 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 and earned his master’s degree in conducting at Northwestern. 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 Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program and biannual Composer Lab & Workshop for young and emerging composers.
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Denis Kozhukhin
Piano
A pianist of exceptional technique, emotional depth and sophistication, Denis Kozhukhin has gained significant recognition through his powerful performances, establishing himself as one of the most accomplished musicians of his generation.
Highlights of the last two seasons include performances with San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Frankfurt’s hr-Sinfonieorchester, BBC Symphony, Orchestre National de Belgique, Danish National Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and WDR Sinfonieorchester, working Rafael Payare, Alain Altintoglu, Cristian Macelaru, Hannu Lintu, Dalia Stasevska and Santtu-Matias Rouvali among others.
Kozhukhin’s 2023/24 season includes returns to the Oslo Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Washington’s National Symphony and Orquestra Simfónica de Barcelona, alongside debuts with Dallas Symphony, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and Melbourne Symphony. Denis will also perform recitals and chamber music at the Pierre Boulez Saal, Elbphilharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Zurich’s Tonhalle. Since winning the Queen Elizabeth Competition in 2010, Denis has performed with the London Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Staatskapelle Berlin. A sought-after recitalist and chamber musician, Kozhukhin regularly appears at a number of prominent music festivals including Verbier, Gstaad, Grafenegg, Dresden, Intonations Festival, Tsinandali, Klavier Ruhr, Lanaudiere, and Jerusalem Music Festivals, as well as the BBC Proms.
As a Pentatone recording artist, his discography spans works by Haydn, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Ravel and Gershwin.
A graduate of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid under the guidance of Dmitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Kozhukhin further honed his skills at the Piano Academy at Lake Como, where he received advice from notable pianists such as Fou Ts'ong, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Peter Frankl, Boris Berman, Charles Rosen, and Andreas Staier, and Kirill Gerstein in Stuttgart.
Programme
Robert Schumann
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, in A minor, op. 54
1. Allegro affettuoso
2. Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso –
3. Finale: Allegro vivace