Christian Simonis

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Christian Simonis (born July 4, 1956 in Vienna ) is an Austrian conductor . Since 2015 he has been chief conductor and artistic director of the Bad Reichenhaller Philharmonie .

Life

Christian Simonis was born in Vienna in 1956. He was a member of the Vienna Boys' Choir . At the age of ten he sang the first Haydn mass, at 16 he conducted the first Haydn symphony. At the age of 17 he founded the “ Wiener Jeunesse Chamber Orchestra ” in 1973 , which he directed for seven years.

In the course of his career he was chief conductor of the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic (1985–1990), the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra (1990–2005) and the Mitteldeutsche Kammerphilharmonie (2005–2013). As a guest conductor, he has worked with numerous well-known orchestras such as the Bamberg Symphony , the WDR Radio Orchestra and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz . In addition, he made many tours abroad (including Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Japan).

In 2012 he recorded the CD "Petersburger Schlittenfahrt" with music by Richard Eilenberg with the WDR radio orchestra . The following year, a selection of works by the Hungarian-Austrian composer Josef Gung'l was recorded with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra . A CD with music by Benjamin Bilse was also made . Another CD recording with works by Carl Millöcker was released in 2017.

From the 2013/14 season he worked as a freelance conductor, and since July 1, 2015, he has again been chief conductor of the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic Orchestra, and with it he also supports the oeuvre of Johann Strauss (son) and his dynasty, even in those that are unknown today Versions (some of which have to be painstakingly reconstructed). In 2018 he designed extensive programs for the 150th anniversary of this orchestra.

The pianist Michael Schäfer characterized his way of making music as follows:

“The very cultivated handling of the music by the conductor was always evident. [...] He has a sense of the many charming little delays and accelerations of the basic tempo - already soaked up in Viennese breast milk - which are not all in the score , but give the music wings. "

Awards

One of his teachers, Hans Swarowsky , called him a “Viennese original talent”. Christian Simonis is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards

  • Mozart Interpretation Prize from the Austrian Ministry of Art (1979)
  • Golden Badge of Honor of the City of Bad Reichenhall (1990)
  • Award of the German Music Publishers Association for "The best concert program 1995/96"
  • Art Prize of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Art (1996)
  • Appointment as general music director (2000)
  • Honorary member of the German Tonkünstlerverband (2008)
  • Music Prize of the State of Saxony-Anhalt (2013)

Simonis is the honorary patron (formerly: "honorary protector") of the "German Johann Strauss Society" (since 2004, official board member since 2015) and was president of the Joseph Haydn Society in Vienna from 1974–1988 . In 2004 he was the founding president of the Joseph Lanner Society in Vienna.

His CD world premiere recording of the oratorio L'Apocalypse by Jean Françaix (French composer and pianist, 1912–1997, composed 1939) with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra received the Le Timbre de Platine award from Opera International . In 2008, his Benjamin Bilse CD with the WDR Radio Orchestra received the highest number of points for artistic quality, sound quality and overall impression from Klassik heute .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Volksstimme of May 24, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  2. ↑ Michael Schäfer: Göttingen Symphony Orchestra gives traditional New Year's Eve concert. In: Göttinger Tageblatt . January 1, 2014 .;
  3. ↑ Compilation on the website of the Bad Reichenhaller Philharmonie. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Simonis, Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian conductor
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna