Marek Janowski, Chefdirigent & Künstlerischer Leiter / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin

Sinfonieorchester Berlin since 2002 and during his tenure, has built the orchestra into a world class ensemble. His Wagner opera cycle with the RSB in Berlin’s Philharmonie captivated Berlin audiences, setting a new standard of performance in concertante opera. The cycle culminated in performances of the Ring Cycle in November 2012 and March 2013. The complete cycle of the Wagner operas was recorded live on Pentatone. A highlight of the RSB’s 2014/15 season will be concert performances of two of Richard Strauss’ operas: Daphne and Elektra in May. Marek Janowski and the orchestra continue to tour widely and will also tour Taiwan, South Korea and Japan with Frank Peter Zimmermann in the coming season.

Marek Janowski’s guest conductoring takes him to orchestra in the USA including the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and in Europe with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra National de Lyon, and Orchestra Chambre de Lausanne. In February 2015, Marek Janowski will return to the Gürzenich Orchestra for three concerts for the first time since his time as Chief Conductor. In April 2015 Marek Janowski will conduct a concert performance of Die Walkürie with Tokyo Opera Nomori, the second part of his Ring Cycle with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, for the Spring Festival in Tokyo.

Born in Warsaw and educated in Germany, Marek Janowski’s artistic path led him from Assistant positions in Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Hamburg to his appointment as General Music Director in Freiburg im Breisgau (1973-75) and Dortmund (1975-79). Whilst in Dortmund, his reputation grew rapidly and he was invited to conduct in many of Europe’s leading opera houses. There is not one world-renowned opera house where he has not been a regular guest since the late 1970s, from the Metropolitan Opera New York to the Bayerischer Staatsoper Munich; from Chicago and San Francisco to Hamburg; from Vienna and Berlin to Paris.

Marek Janowski stepped back from the opera scene in the 1990s in order to concentrate on the great German symphonic repertoire. He now enjoys an outstanding reputation amongst the premier orchestras of Europe and North America and is recognised for his ability to create orchestras of international standing as well as for his interpretation of the core German repertoire.

Between 1984 and 2000, as Musical Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Marek Janowski took the orchestra to a position of pre-eminence in France, as well as abroad. From 1986 to 1990, in addition to his position in Paris, Janowski held the title of Chief Conductor of the Gürzenich-Orchester in Cologne and between 1997 and 1999, he was also First Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. From 2000 to 2005 Janowski served as Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and from 2001 to 2003 he also held the position of Chief Conductor with the Dresdner Philharmonie.

Marek Janowski has made many recordings over the past 30 years, including many complete operas and symphonic cycles, many of which have been awarded international prizes. To this day, his recording of Richard Wagner’s complete tetralogy the Ring Cycle with the Staatskapelle Dresden (1980-83) remains one of the most distinguished and musically interesting recordings that has been made of this work. His Bruckner cycle with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, recorded for Pentatone has also been accorded high praise and of Bruckner Symphony No.3, Resmusica wrote, “After the extraordinary mixed delirium of the first movement, the inspired Marek Janowski offers a Second movement full of colour. With a grand, magnificent string section, the German conductor offers music of overwhelming emotion. What intensity, what beauty and what magnificent clarity in the continuity of the musical discourse” (Jacques Schmitt). With the final release (Götterdämmerung) in November 2013, Marek Janowski’s Wagner cycle for Pentatone is described by the Guardian as “the most ambitious recording project marking this year’s bicentenary”.

Born in 1965 in Duisburg, Germany, Frank Peter Zimmermann started playing the violin when he was 5 years old, giving his first concert with orchestra at the age of 10. After finishing his studies with Valery Gradov, Saschko Gawriloff and Herman Krebbers in 1983, Frank Peter Zimmermann has been performing with all major orchestras in the world, collaborating on these occasions with the world’s most renowned conductors. His many concert engagements take him to all important concert venues and international music festivals in Europe, the United States, Japan, South America and Australia.

Highlights for the season 2014/15 include Beethoven recitals with Christian Zacharias at the Salzburg and Edinburgh Festivals, engagements with the New York Philharmonic and Sakari Oramo, the Boston Symphony and Juanjo Mena, the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, both with Mariss Jansons, the Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies and Donald Runnicles, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden and a tour with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Christoph von Dohnanyi, who will also be conducting his engagement with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.

He started the 2013/14 season with performances of the Brahms violin concerto with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich under David Zinman (Edinburgh Festival), the London Symphony Orchestra under Nikolaj Znaider (Grafenegg Festival) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Josep Pons (BBC Proms). As “artist-in-residence” of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich he gave a series of concerts throughout the season with conductors David Zinman and Christoph von Dohnanyi, as well as giving a recital with Enrico Pace and a concert with his Trio Zimmermann. Other highlights included appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, the NHK Symphony and Staatskapelle Dresden, both under Herbert Blomstedt, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Manfred Honeck, the Czech Philharmonic under Jir?í Be?lohlávek and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig under Jukka-Pekka Saraste. He also undertook two European tours with the Trio Zimmermann and gave a series of recitals with Enrico Pace in Europe and Japan.

Mr. Zimmermann has given world premieres of three violin concertos: the violin concerto “en sourdine” by Matthias Pintscher with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Peter Eötvös (2003), the violin concerto “The Lost Art of Letter Writing” by Brett Dean, who received the 2009 Grawemeyer Award for this composition, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by the composer (2007) and the violin concerto no. 3 “Juggler in Paradise” by Augusta Read Thomas with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Andrey Boreyko (2009).

Also an avid chamber musician and recitalist, Mr. Zimmermann gives numerous concerts worldwide. His interpretations of the classical, romantic and 20th Century repertoire are received with great critical acclaim from press and public alike. His regular recital partners are pianists Piotr Anderzewski, Enrico Pace and Emanuel Ax.

Together with viola player Antoine Tamestit and cellist Christian Poltéra he forms the Trio Zimmermann; the string trio performs in among others Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, London, Lyon, Milan, Munich, Paris and Vienna, as well as during the festivals in Salzburg and Edinburgh. So far BIS Records released three CD recordings with works for string trio by Beethoven (Op. 3, Op. 8 and Op. 9), Mozart (Divertimento KV 563) and Schubert (Trio, D 471).

Mr. Zimmermann received a number of special prizes and honours, among which the “Premio del Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Siena” (1990), the “Rheinischer Kulturpreis” (1994), the “Musikpreis” of the city of Duisburg (2002), the “Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse der Bundesrepublik Deutschland” (2008) and the “Paul-Hindemith-Preis der Stadt Hanau” (2010).

Over the years he has built up an impressive discography for EMI Classics, Sony Classical, BIS, Ondine, Teldec Classics and ECM Records. He has recorded virtually all major concerto repertoire, ranging from Bach to Ligeti, as well as many works from the recital repertoire. Many of these recordings have received prestigious awards and prizes worldwide.

In May 2013 BIS released his highly praised recording of the Hindemith violin concerto (1939), which he performs with the hr-Sinfonieorchester under Paavo Järvi, and of four sonatas by the same composer (three of which together with pianist Enrico Pace). A few months later followed a further release on BIS of his recording of the violin concerto “The Lost Art of Letter Writing” by Brett Dean, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jonathan Nott.

Frank Peter Zimmermann plays a Stradivarius from 1711, which once belonged to Fritz Kreisler, and which is kindly sponsored by Portigon AG.

Since the beginning of the Janowski era, capable young conductors from the international music scene have been coming to Berlin to the RSB. After Andris Nelsons, Kristjan Järvi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Juraj Valčuha, Vasily Petrenko, Ludovic Morlot, Jakub Hrůša, Alondra de la Parra and Alain Altinoglu in years past, in the 2014/2015 season Vladimir Jurowski, Dima Slobodeniouk and Ivan Repušić, among others, will be conducting the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin. The orchestra’s guests, who also include experienced masters like Kurt Masur, Gerd Albrecht (†), Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos have also contributed and still contribute to the RSB’s repertoire profile. Andrea Marcon brings out the RSB’s skill in playing music from the Bach era, Frank Strobel guarantees exemplary concerts of film music, and Heiko Mathias Förster is extending the RSB’s commitment to “Wagner for Children” with the “Ring of the Nibelungs”.

Besides symphonic and chamber music concerts, radio recordings and CD productions, the orchestra’s tasks also include special concerts for families and children. Many of the musicians often take a very personal interest in ambitious projects for the younger generation, sharing their knowledge with great commitment and sensitivity.

In addition, the RSB has been appearing on important national and international stages besides Berlin for more than 50 years now. Alongside regular tours of Taiwan, Korea and Japan the orchestra also makes guest appearances at European festivals and in German centres of music. There are also long-standing partnerships with the Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Choriner Musiksommer.