Eliahu Inbal, Conductor Konzerthausorchester Berlin

In Inbal, one can trace the clear traits of role models and teachers such as Franco Ferrara and Sergiu Celibidache; he possesses the strength for tranquillity and meaning to create unbridled passion and dramatic effect. Die Welt

Since winning first prize in the Cantelli Conducting Competition at the age of 26, Eliahu Inbal has enjoyed an international career, conducting leading orchestras worldwide. Over the years, he has been appointed principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (hr-Sinfonieorchester), Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Czech Philharmonic and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.

During his tenure with the hr-Sinfonieorchester (1974-1990), whose honorary conductor he remains today, Eliahu Inbal distinguished himself as an outstanding musical personality of our time. The charismatic Israeli conductor, who lives in Paris, received international acclaim for his interpretations of Mahler and Bruckner through a number of award-winning recordings (Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, Grand Prix du Disque) and the first recordings of the original versions of Anton Bruckner’s symphonies. He has received special recognition for his interpretations of Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies in particular.

2016 marks Eliahu Inbal’s 80th birthday. He will feature in various guest performances of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR), including in Basel, Vienna and at the Spring Festival in Monte-Carlo, and conduct Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France at the Philharmonie de Paris, as well as Symphony No. 8 with the Orchestra del Teatro la Fenice. Asia is also calling again, where he will perform with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in his role as Conductor Laureate and with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra for the third time within two years.

His operatic engagements have taken him to opera houses in Paris, Glyndebourne, Munich, Stuttgart, Zurich and Madrid, among others. He celebrated the 2013 Wagner anniversary year with highly acclaimed performances of Parsifal at the Vlaamse Opera and Tristan and Isolde at the Festival de Opera de A Coru?a. In February 2016 he will return to A Coruña to conduct a concert performance of Richard Strauss’ Salome.

Born in Israel, Eliahu Inbal studied violin and composition at the Jerusalem Music Academy before completing his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris upon the recommendation of Leonard Bernstein. His teachers there included Louis Fourestier, Olivier Messiaen and Nadia Boulanger. His musical development was also greatly influenced by Franco Ferrara in Hilversum (Netherlands) and Sergiu Celibidache in Siena (Italy).

Eliahu Inbal’s extensive discography includes the complete symphonic works of Berlioz, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Ravel, Schumann, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, and the Second Viennese School. He has recorded these works with the hr-Sinfonieorchester, as well as with the Philharmonia Orchestra London, Orchestre National de France, Vienna Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Czech Philharmonic. Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (completed version by D. Cooke) which he conducted as part of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Mahler cycle was also released on DVD.

In 1990, the French government named Eliahu Inbal an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. In February 2001 he was awarded the Golden Medal for Merit from the city of Vienna. He received the Goethe Badge of Honour from the City of Frankfurt and the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006.

Ryu Goto has established himself as a significant voice in classical music, with a large and growing public in Asia, North America and Europe. Ryu’s career began at age seven when he made his debut at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, playing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No.1. Since then, Ryu has appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including National Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, M?nchner Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, Sydney Symphony, Orchestre national de Lyon, Orchestre symphonique de Montr?al, Hamburger Symphoniker and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with conductors Lorin Maazel, Tan Dun, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Fabio Luisi, Leonard Slatkin, Kent Nagano, Myung-Whun Chung and Jonathan Nott. Ryu has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Sydney Opera House, Shanghai Grand Theater, Taipei National Concert Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Munich’s Herkulessaal and the Philharmonic Hall Gasteig.

In the 2015-2016 season, Ryu will make his debuts with the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) under the baton of Andr?s Orozco-Estrada, as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick N?zet-S?guin. In addition, Ryu’s 8th album, which includes Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, will be released in November 2015.

Ryu’s philanthropic work includes working with student musicians throughout the world, mentoring their development, conducting master classes in conjunction with the world’s top institutions. Efforts include the ‘Ryu Goto Excellence In Music Initiative Scholarship’ with the NYC Department of Education, as well as collaborations with institutions like the Juilliard School and the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra. He does extensive musical outreach and cultural exchange in developing countries in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa.

In Japan Ryu’s features in media are numerous, including his own documentary ‘Ryu Goto’s Odyssey’, a chronicle of his career and personal life from 1996-2006. He also serves as spokesperson for the East Japan Railway Company with regular coverage on TV, radio and in print. Since October 2015, he has appeared weekly on TV Asahi as the host of Untitled Concert, a nationally televised program in Japan that has been listed in Guinness World Records as ‘the longest-running TV program for classical music.’

Ryu records for Deutsche Grammophon in collaboration with Universal Classics Japan. In May 2011 he graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Physics and is currently studying the violin with Prof. Ana Chumachenco. He is a member of US-Japan Council, and has accepted an award from the Japanese American Bar Association as a Japanese-American leader. He holds a 3rd degree black belt from the Japan Karate Association. He performs on the Stradivarius 1722 violin ‘Jupiter’ on loan to him from Nippon Music Foundation.

The Konzerthausorchester Berlin can now look back on a history spanning more than 63 years. Founded in 1952 as a state ensemble, it gained international acclaim under the direction of Kurt Sanderling, Chief Conductor from 1960 to 1977.
Today the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, with over 12,000 subscription patrons, has one of the largest subscribing audience bases of any ensemble in Germany.
Besides presenting up to 100 concerts a season at the Konzerthaus, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin also has a solid history of touring to the USA, Japan, Great Britain, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, China, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
Regular performances at national and international festivals like the Musikfest Berlin, Istanbul International Music Festival, George Enescu Festival, Bratislava Music Festival are standard. The orchestra is continually rejuvenating itself by accepting young musicians to its ranks. By founding the Orchestra Academy in 2010, the orchestra also took a large step towards developing musicians for the next generation. Iv?n Fischer became the new Chief Conductor of Konzerthausorchester Berlin in the 2012/13 season. Dmitrij Kitajenko serves as the principal guest conductor. Guest appearances include concerts with renowned artists like Bertrand de Billy, Andrey Boreyko, Vladimir Jurowski, Marc Minkowski, Michael Sanderling, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Eliahu Inbal, Simone Young, Julia Fischer, Philippe Jaroussky, Anna Prohaska, Mitsuko Uchida, Arcadi Volodos and Nikolaj Znaider, to name just a few.
Anywhere that dedication meets tradition is where the Konzerthausorchester Berlin is at home. Iv?n Fischer´s ideas are inexhaustible and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin repeatedly dares to experiment with new formats in the concert hall. Surprise concerts, various orchestra settings, exciting marathon concert days, public rehearsals and since season 2014/2015 a concert series in which the audience is seated in the midst of the orchestra ? whereby chief conductor Iv?n Fischer brings audience and musicians so close. “Right in the middle” is not only the motto of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, but also a way to approach and discover classical music in a different way.