Eschenbach Conducts Beethoven & Brahms 1

Christoph Eschenbach is a phenomenon among the top league of international conductors. Universally acclaimed as both a conductor and pianist, he belongs to the German intellectual line of tradition, yet he combines this with a rare emotional intensity, producing performances revered worldwide. Renowned for the breadth of his repertoire and the depth of his interpretations, he has held directorships with many leading orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, and gained the highest musical honors.

In exploring the conditions that led to the emergence of such a charismatic talent, we can look to his early years—born at the heart of a tempestuous, war-torn Europe in 1940, his early childhood was scarred by a succession of personal tragedies. Music was his savior, and his life began to change when he learned the piano. Now, at age 78, his keen artistic curiosity is undiminished, and he still thoroughly enjoys working with the finest international orchestras. He is also well-known as a tireless supporter of young talent—this is his greatest passion, and he values his contribution to mentoring up-and-coming talent over and above his own distinguished career. Moved by the energy and the drive of young people, he has a personal mission to pass the torch to the next generation. His discoveries include pianist Lang Lang, violinist Julia Fischer, and cellists Leonard Elschenbroich and Daniel Müller-Schott.

Christoph continues to explore new horizons; since September 2019, he is the music director of the Konzerthausorchester, Berlin. Other directorships have included the Tonhalle Orchestra, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, NDR Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra. Over five decades, he has built an impressive discography, both as a conductor and a pianist, with a repertoire ranging from J.S. Bach to contemporary music.

Christoph Eschenbach has been awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and is a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres; he holds of the German Federal Cross of Merit and won the Leonard Bernstein Award. In 2015, he received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, known as “The Nobel Prize of music,” for his achievements as conductor and pianist.

Born in Athens, Greece in September 1996, son to a ballet dancer, a banker and future brother to a then unborn sister, at the age of 5, Stathis Karapanos declared his love for the flute, practiced and performed in the places he has lived and travelled.

He had the opportunity to live and to study in Greece, Bulgaria, Germany and France whereby his teachers were Philippe Bernold, Pirmin Grehl, Georgi Spassov and Myrto Tsakiri among others.

Searching for inspiration is a never-ending and vitally crucial journey in one’s life, and in Stathis’ case some of the most inspiring figures have been artists such as Zubin Mehta, Christophe Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Yutaka Sado, Matthias Goerne. He considers himself extremely lucky and privileged to have been invited to collaborate with such renowned musicians, and to learn from these artists.

Some of his recent collaborations and performances include collaborations with Vilde Frang, Nicolas Altstaedt, Daniel Hope, Joerg Widmann, Chen Reiss, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Noah Bendix-Balgley and Marisol Montalvo.

As a soloist he has been honored with the “Music: Landschaft Westfalen Festival Award”(2021), the “Leonard Bernstein Award” from the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival (2020), the “Lotto Prize” from the Rheingau Festival (2019) and have received numerous prizes from international competitions. In 2021 Stathis Karapanos was accepted into the Development Program of the Orpheum Foundation for the Advancement of Young Soloists.

Past and upcoming performances, as well as recordings include: the World Premiere of “Für Inge” of Leonard Bernstein, “Lamentation” of Craig Urquhart, the World Premiere of the “Zorbas Suite” by M. Theodorakis and A. Wastor which Stathis Karapanos commissioned together with the Young Euro Classic Festival, the NCPA Orchestra (Beijing), Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (St. Petersburg), Athens State Symphony Orchestra (Greece), HR Symphony Orchestra (Frankfurt), Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra among many others.

Jan Lisiecki’s interpretations and technique speak to a maturity beyond his age. At 26, the Canadian annually performs more than 100 concerts worldwide, and he has worked closely with conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Harding, and Claudio Abbado.

This season, following his acclaimed Night Music recitals, Jan presents a new all-Chopin recital program in more than 30 cities around the globe. Recent return invitations include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for performances at Carnegie Hall and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He recently performed a Beethoven Lieder cycle with baritone Matthias Goerne, among others, at the Salzburg Festival, and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and London Symphony Orchestra.

At age 15, Jan signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The label launched its celebrations of the Beethoven Year 2020 with the release of a live recording of all five Beethoven concertos from Konzerthaus Berlin, with Jan leading the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields from the piano. His Beethoven Lieder cycle with Matthias Goerne, released shortly after, was awarded the Diapason d’Or. Jan’s eighth recording for Deutsche Grammophon, a double album of Frédéric Chopin’s Complete Nocturnes, appeared in August 2021 and immediately topped the classical charts in North America and Europe. His recordings have been awarded with the JUNO and ECHO Klassik.

At 18, Jan Lisiecki became the youngest recipient of Gramophone’s Young Artist Award, and he received the Leonard Bernstein Award. He was named UNICEF Ambassador to Canada in 2012.