 |
CENTRAL EUROPEAN MUSIC AGENCY
|
|
|
CONDUCTOR SINGERS PIANO HARPSICHORD ORGAN HARP VIOLA CELLO FRENCH HORN ENSEMBLES PROJECTS |
| Since 2005, Kaspar Zehnder has been the Chief Conductor of the Prague Philharmonia. He has created an inventive dramaturgy for the orchestra’s subscriber concerts and has been involved with the orchestra in a number of domestic and international performances at leading European festivals and in top concert halls. He regularly cooperates with significant soloists (Jana Boušková, Luisa Castellani, Brigitte Engerer, Natalia Gutman, Rachel Harnisch, Cornelia Kallisch, Isabelle van Keulen, Patricia Kopačinskaja, Marianne Pousseur, Jiří Bárta, Bruno Ganz, Konstantin Lifschitz, Ernesto Molinari or Maxim Vengerov) and with leading European orchestras. Kaspar Zehnder completed his studies in classical languages at the Lyceum in Berne, in which city he also simultaneously studied the flute (Heidi Indermühle), the piano (Agathe Rytz-Jaggi), music theory (Arthur Furer, Peter Streiff) and conducting (Ewald Körner) at the Berne Academy of the Arts. He also participated in a number of master classes in Zurich, Paris and Sienna under conductors such as Ralf Weikert, Horst Stein, Werner-Andreas Albert and Charles Dutoit. In 1995/96, he was a member of the European Mozart Academy where his main mentor was the flautist, Aurèle Nicolet. He gained his first orchestral experience with the Kammerorchester Neufeld Bern and the Burgdorfer Kammerorchester. From 1997 to 2006, he was active as the head conductor of the orchestra at the Bern Academy of the Arts, where he especially focussed the repertoire on contemporary works. During that time, one of his many activities included the recording of a CD of Gershwin and Ellington’s jazz songs with the popular orchestra of the Berne Academy of the Arts and the jazz singer, Sandy Patton. Kaspar Zehnder has held the post of the Artistic and Musical Director at the Murten Classics Festival (Switzerland) since 1999. Under his leadership, the Murten Classics Festival has grown from a local festival into a significant cultural event. He has also been the Chief Conductor of the Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra in Rumania for 5 years. In 2004, he undertook an outdoor multimedia performance of Dvořák’s Rusalka at the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu. In 2003, he was appointed the musical director of the Zentrum Paul Klee Bern. He established the Ensemble Paul Klee (an ensemble, which is mainly oriented towards the music of the 20th century) at that significant multimedia cultural centre. He also performs with this ensemble as a flautist. Kaspar Zehnder’s engagements in the 2006/2007 season included a number of significant performances in Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany and Spain. He opened the prestigious “Sibiu – The European City of Culture 2007” project with a gala concert with the Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra in Rumania. In February, he debuted with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava. He performed with the Prague Philharmonia in the Czech Republic at the Brno International Music Festival in April, at the Prague Spring International Music Festival in May and in the Concentus Moraviae International Music Festival of 13 Towns in June. Directly thereafter, he was involved in the gala opening concert of the Mitte Europa Festival in Oelsnitz, Germany. This concert has been recorded by the German ARD radio station and offered for the EBU international music exchange. In August, he conducted several concerts with the Sinfoinetta Cracovia, the Prague Philharmona and Capella Istropolitana within the framework of the Murten Classics Festival. In addition to the continuing engagements in Bern and Prague, the season 2007/2008 will include concerts in Roverto, Italy, with Isabelle van Keulen in September and in Milan’s La Scala in October, concerts in Philharmonic Krakau, tours in Spain (i.a. with Guarneri Trio Prague), a debut with Orchestre National de Montpellier and the State Philharmonic Brno. He will perform with the Prague Philharmonia and the cellist Jiří Bárta in Roeselare, Belgium, within the framework of the Czech Dreams European project. In 2009, Kaspar Zehnder will be involved, together with the pianist Karel Košárek, in a project to perform the complete works for piano and orchestra by Bohuslav Martinu upon the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of the composer. Kaspar Zehnder makes regularly recordings for European radio and television stations. His last television project was for Czech Television – a recording of the gala closing concert of the Concentus Moraviae International Music Festival of 13 Towns with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra – and it has also been issued on DVD. 2008 |
