Christian Vásquez with the Medellin Philharmonic Orchestra

Christian Vásquez with the Medellin Philharmonic Orchestra

Christian Vásquez conducts the Medellin Philharmonic Orchestra next Saturday, September 4, at the Metropolitan Theater of this Colombian city. The program includes Mussorgsky’s Intermezzo in modo classico, Mozart’s Clarinet concerto with Felipe Jiménez, and Bizet’s Symphony in C. The concert is part of a four-week residence within the selection process for a principal conductor that the orchestra is currently carrying out. Throughout this month-long residence, Christian Vásquez will conduct four concerts of different character and varied programs.

The next concert will take place on Friday 10 September at the Parroquia de San Juan Apóstol in Medellin with ensembles from the various sections of the Medellin Philharmonic—strings, wood, brass and percussion—. Vásquez will conduct works by Donizetti, Gounod, Wagner, Copland, Jorge Humberto Pinzón or Pacho Flores.

Christian Vásquez Medellin Philharmonic

©Takafumi Ueno

The following week, on Friday, September 17, Christian will conduct a popular program at the Theater of the University of Medellin as part of the social and community activities of the Philharmonic, which will include some of the most popular soundtracks of the last years by composers such as John Williams, Henry Mancini, Hans Zimmer, Lalo Schifrin, Howard Shore, Monty Norman or Ramin Djawadi. Christian’s residence will finish on Sunday, September 26 with an educational concert that aims to take the audience on a journey from Spain to various Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Argentina and finally Colombia, through works by Ruperto Chapí, Gerónimo Giménez, Rafael Hernández, Pérez Prado, Miguel Matamoros, Alberto Nepomuceno, Antonio Estévez, Lucho Bermúdez or Miguel Ángel Martín.

Christian Vásquez is Music Director of the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, which he led on an important tour around Europe that took them to perform in London, Lisbon, Toulouse, Munich, Stockholm and Istanbul. Vásquez has also been Principal Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Het Gelders Orkest in The Netherlands and the Gävle Symphony Orchestra in Sweden.


 

 

 

Christian Vásquez with the Medellin Philharmonic Orchestra

Christian Vásquez opens the Tongyeong Festival in Korea

Christian Vásquez opens the Tongyeong Festival in South Korea on March 26 with a program that includes Fanfare & Memorial (1979), by Korean composer Isang Yung, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, with Bomsori Kim as soloist, and Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Two days later, on March 28, he will conduct again the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra in a program that includes the Asian premiere of Fazil Say’s Cello Concerto Never Give Up, with Camille Thomas as soloist, and the Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 by Antonin Dvořâk. Christian Vásquez has recently conducted two great concerts with the Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, and upon his return from Korea he will once again conduct the Stavanger Symphony in Norway.
 

Christian Vásquez is Musical Director of the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, which he conducted on a remarkable European tour that took them to London, Lisbon, Toulouse, Munich, Stockholm and Istanbul. He was Principal Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra from 2013 to 2019 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Het Gelders Orkest from 2015 to 2020, a position that he began with a Latin program on a tour around The Netherlands. Following his debut with the Gävle Symphony Orchestra in October 2009, one of his first appearances in Europe, Christian Vásquez was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra (2010-2013). He has worked with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Camerata, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic or Singapore Symphony Orchestra. In North America he has conducted the National Arts Center Orchestra (Ottawa) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, during his participation in their Young Artist Fellowship program.

Christian Vásquez inaugura el Festival de Tongyeong

©Takafumi Ueno


He has conducted orchestras such as the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Sinfónica de Galicia, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Beethoven Festival Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Radio Symphony Orchestra of Prague, Poznan Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Mexican National Symphony Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Gran Canaria Philharmonic and the Estonian National Orchestra. His first operatic engagement in Europe was at the Norwegian Opera with Carmen.

 
 
 
 
Christian Vásquez with the Medellin Philharmonic Orchestra

Christian Vásquez conducts the Orchestra of Asturias

Venezuelan conductor Christian Vásquez returns to Spain to lead the OSPA, Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, in a program that includes Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Vadim Kholodenko as soloist, and Brahms Symphony No. 3. The concerts will take place on February 11 and 12 at the Prince Felipe Auditorium in Oviedo and the Jovellanos Theater in Gijón, respectively.

Christian Vásquez has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra in Sweden and the Het Gelders Orkest in The Netherlands, as well as Principal Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony in Norway, and continues to lead the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. In the upcoming months his engagements will take him to four continents: Asia, Oceania, Europe and America. Vásquez has conducted important orchestras such as the philharmonic orchestras of Los Angeles, Rotterdam, Helsinki, Tokyo, Luxembourg, Arnhem, Turku and Poznan, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Danish Royal Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Camerata Salzburg, Royal Northern Sinfonia, National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa, Warsaw Beethoven Festival Orchestra, Vienna, Prague, and Norway Radio Symphony Orchestras, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Singapore, New Jersey, and State of Russia Symphony orchestras, Estonian National Orchestra, and the Norwegian and Danish National Operas. He also appears on the album Cantar by Pacho Flores with the Berlin Konzerthausorchester.

Christian_Vasquez_Noticia_ACM Concerts

Christian Vásquez, who has already conducted the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra and the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra in Spain, appears for the first time with the Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias and will soon make his debut with the Navarra Symphony Orchestra, which had to be cancelled last season due to the lockdown declared to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

 

 

 

Christian Vásquez with the Gran Canaria Philharmonic

Christian Vásquez with the Gran Canaria Philharmonic

Christian Vásquez will conduct the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra on 5 and 6 November at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus in Las Palmas in a program which consists on Schumann’s Genoveva Overture and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. This will be Christian Vásquez’s second visit to the Gran Canaria Philharmonic after his celebrated concert last September 2019, in which he conducted a varied program of Latin American and European music. The Venezuelan conductor has already worked with important Spanish orchestras such as the Galicia and the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestras, and he will soon make his debut with the Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias.

Internationally, Christian Vásquez has been Principal Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony in Norway, as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Gävle Symphony in Norway and the Het Gelders Orkest in the Netherlands. He is also to this day Principal Conductor of the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Christian Vásquez has also worked with other ensembles such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Camerata, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Center Orchestra (Ottawa), Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Beethoven Festival Orchestra or Turku Philharmonic.

Christian_Vasquez_Noticia_ACM Concerts

In recent seasons, Christian has made important debuts with orchestras such as the Luxembourg, Rotterdam, Poznan, Turku and Helsinki Philarmonics, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Orchestra, Royal Danish Orchestra, Norway Radio Orchestra or the RTE National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland. After this visit to the Gran Canaria Philharmonic, Christian Vásquez will travel to Italy for his debut with the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra. Other engagements, both in Spain as well as in Europe and America, will be announced soon.

 

 

 

 

Arturo Márquez, French premiere of Concierto de Otoño by Pacho Flores

Arturo Márquez, French premiere of Concierto de Otoño by Pacho Flores

Arturo Márquez’s Concierto de Otoño will be premiered in France by Pacho Flores and the Orchestre National de Lille under conductor Josep Vicent. Concerts will take place at the Auditorium du Nouveau Siècle, in Lille, on Thursday, 5, Boulogne-sur-Mer Théâtre on Friday, 6 and at L’Imaginaire in Douchy-les-Mines on Saturday, 7, December 2019. The program, entitled Eldorado, contains also works by Revueltas, Falla and Ravel. This Concierto de Otoño by Arturo Márquez was co-commissioned by four orchestras: National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Hyogo PAC Orchestra of Japan and Oviedo Philharmonia in Spain. 

It was premiered along the 2018/19 season with conductors Carlos Miguel Prieto, José Luis Gómez, Michiyoshi Inoue and Lucas Macías respectively, and since then it was played by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería (Mexico) and the Opening Night Gala of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, both with C. M. Prieto; Filarmónica de Bogotá (Colombian premiere), Christian Vásquez; Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Josep Caballé Doménech; and Real Filharmonía de Galicia, with Manuel Hernández-Silva, together with the absolute premiere of Efraín Oscher’s Danzas Latinas; after Lille, the Concierto de Otoño is already programmed by the Winnipeg Symphony (Canadian premiere), José Luis Gómez; Liverpool Philharmonic (UK premiere), Domingo Hindoyan, together with the concerto Salseando by Roberto Sierra, UK premiere as well; Orquesta de Córdoba, Carlos Domínguez-Nieto, together with the absolute premiere of Concierto Mambí by Igmar Alderete; and some other orchestras to be announced.

Arturo Márquez, Concierto de Otoño, Pacho Flores

D. Freiberg, A. Márquez, P. D’Rivera, P. Flores and C. M. Prieto during the recording of Mestizo for Deutsche Grammophon

Arturo Márquez’s Concierto de Otoño is the very first of a large and ambitious project of co-commissions of new trumpet concertos to outstanding composers as Paquito D’Rivera, Roberto Sierra, Efraín Oscher, Christian Lindberg and Daniel Freiberg involving orchestras form all around the world. Paquito D’Rivera’s Concerto Venezolano was premiered by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería with Carlos Miguel Prieto and is going to be premiered soon by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra with Rafael Payare and Orquesta of Valencia in Spain with Vicent Alberola; and Roberto Sierras’ Salseando will be premiered on next January by the Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra and Domingo Hindoyan and about the summer by the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra and Giancarlo Guerrero.

Arturo Márquez, CXoncierto de Otoño, Pacho Flores

Pacho Flores has just premiered Danzas Latinas by Efraín Oscher with the Real Filharmonía de Galicia and Manuel Hernández-Silva in a concert that also included Arturo Márquez’s Concierto de Otoño, the same week he launched his newest recording for Deutsche Grammophon, Cantos y Revueltas, with the same partners, Real Filharmonía and conductor Hernández-Silva. Cantos y Revueltas is also the title of the main work of the recording, a Fantasía Concertante for trumpet and Venezuelan cuatro, played in the premiere and the recording by the Venezuelan virtuoso Leo Rondón.