..
.

	b i o g r a p h y r e v i e w s w e b s i t e write to Manager
Christoph Campestrini, conductor

b i o g r a p h y...........back to roster....up June 2010 Conductor Christoph Campestrini was born in Linz, Austria and received his musical education in the United States. He studied in New York City at the Juilliard School while simultaneously majoring in philosophy and languages at Columbia University. In addition to German and English, he speaks Italian, French, Russian and Spanish. Following his studies at Juilliard and Columbia, he was the only European chosen to be admitted to the founding class of the prestigious Yale University Affiliate Artists Conducting Program. While at Yale, he worked with prominent conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Kurt Sanderling. After his return to Europe, he started an active international career, conducting more than 80 symphony orchestras on all five continents. Among them are the London Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Orchestre Lamoureux - Paris, Philharmonia Hungarica, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, the Israel Sinfonietta, and the Seoul Philharmonic. He also appeared with the radio symphonies of Vienna, Frankfurt, Cologne, Moscow and Prague. Equally in demand as an accomplished opera conductor, Campestrini has served as principal conductor at the prestigious Essen Aalto Musiktheater and the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, where he conducted more than 15 different operas in over 100 performances. Other opera credits include the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf (Die Zauberflöte), Opera Lyra Ottawa (Le nozze di Figaro), Austin Lyric Opera (Don Giovanni), and Carinthian Summer Festival, Cremona Opera, National Opera of Vietnam, Zagreb National Opera and the Hong Kong Opera Academy. Among next season’s North American highlights figure engagements with the Toledo Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Quebec Symphony, in addition to an appearance at the Round Top Festival. During the 2009/10 season he returned to the Sakai City Opera with Massenet's Cendrillon, debuted with the Indianapolis Symphony, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra (Spain), the Hungarian Radio Symphony Budapest and Green Bay Symphony and returned for re-engagements with orchestras such as Calgary Philharmonic, Slovak Philharmonic and Brno Philharmonic. He also made a return to Yale Opera with Le nozze di Figaro. The conductor’s 2008/09 season debuts included Opera Lyra Ottawa in performances of Le nozze di Figaro with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in the pit, as well as Sakai City Opera in Osaka, Japan with a performance of Rusalka. The National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan was another debut. Additionally, he was re-engaged to the San Antonio, Toledo and Oregon symphonies, the latter in a subscription series. 2007/08 was perhaps one of Campestrini’s most important seasons yet. Major debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Florida Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, the Texas Music Festival, The International Festival-Institute at Round-Top and the Seoul Philharmonic figured alongside re-engagements with the Colorado Symphony and Santa Barbara Symphony. During the 2006/07 season, he returned to the Houston Symphony and the symphony orchestras of Toledo, Omaha, Monterey and Honolulu. His US opera debut took place in the Spring of 2006 at the Austin Lyric Opera in a new production of Don Giovanni. In Europe, he maintains a permanent relationship with the Czech State Philharmonic Brno, which he conducts in several programs each season as well as on tour. In addition, he works with orchestras such as the Camerata Salzburg, Bruckner Orchestra Linz and the Slovak Philharmonic. Campestrini has worked with such soloists as Gidon Kremer, Julian Rachlin, Rudolf Buchbinder, Sharon Kam, Julia Fischer and Emmanuel Pahud. b i o......r e v i e w s.....w e b s i t e back to roster...up . . . .

. r e v i e w s...........back to roster....up TOLEDO SYMPHONY Again, Campestrini, whose conducting verges on balletic, elucidated the distinct qualities of each work, capturing the musical essence of Richard Wagner in its great variety. Toledo Blade, 3/28/09 HOUSTON SYMPHONY Showing a more dramatic dash here, Campestrini's conducting brought out the sprightliness and vigor of the opening movement, the forces nicely balanced. The orchestra's smoothly flowing work conveyed the more subtle appeal of the two interior movements. Yet it was the dynamic rendering of the Saltarello finale that made it the work's triumph, a whirlwind of sound that maintained precision despite the dizzying pace. Houston Chronicle, 3/16/08 MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY Campestrini measured that power and released it judiciously, to the best possible effect. He drew big drama from quiet moments, too. I'm particularly thinking of the last movement, when an explosive recollection of the fanfare from the very start of the symphony subsides to a low sustained tone in the basses and cellos. Campestrini let that tone hover for a long, long time before letting it drop to resolution. The delicious suspense of that pause was its own reward, but it also gave us a moment to ponder all the sonic wonders that had led us to that point. Tchaikovsky is notorious for his out-sized emotions, and Campestrini got the emotional charge in the music. But this music also contains the antidote to overdoing it. Campestrini heard the hint of "Swan Lake" in the Fourth Symphony and drew it out. The emotion was hot but never raw or overbearing and always informed by the elegance of ballet. The Fourth Symphony was Tchaikovsky's idea of heroic pathos. The Second Symphony was Beethoven's idea of fun, and Campestrini and the MSO played it with just the antic playfulness it needs. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/19/07 COLORADO SYMPHONY After showing himself to be a capable accompanist on the first half, Campestrini got his chance in the spotlight, and he made the most of it. He led a stirring performance of a substitute selection, Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944, "The Great." He brought a sense of immediacy and drama to this music, conveying the architectural scope of the massive piece while highlighting its inner dialogues and dynamic contrasts. Denver Post, 3/25/07 HOUSTON CHRONICLE Guest conductor Christoph Campestrini, subbing for the ill Jeffrey Kahane, indicated he had thought some about the matter in his exquisitely chiseled opening theme. Its lightness, clarity, clean shape and hushed energy promised a vibrant performance -- if those qualities dominated the following half hour of music. Houston Chronicle 10/19/06 CZECH STATE PHILHARMONIC OF BRNO – Bruckner, Te Deum “Christoph Campestrini … fully engulfing himself in this mighty score [Bruckner Te Deum] … achieved a reading that was dramatically sweeping, clearly articulated and powerful in intensity and expression while proceeding through the profound evocation of its liturgical words. Together with the four soloists [he] delivered an ideal realization of the score.” Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (Germany) “In a festive Anniversary Gala at the Linz Bruckner Hall Christoph Campestrini conducted a quartet of soloists as well as a huge chorus and orchestra in the Te Deum by Anton Bruckner with great dignity and affection.” Volksblatt (Germany) JOHANN STRAUSS ENSEMBLE – Brucknerhaus (Linz) “Christoph Campestrini with his rhythmically precise and caring conducting up-lifted the beautiful melodies by Donizetti, Verdi, Mascagni and Johann Strauss into high spirits.” Neues Volksblatt MOZARTEUM ORCHESTRA (Salzburg) “…Campestrini’s way of conducting, freshly and with a fine sense of humor, was surely a challenge for the musicians.” Salzburger Nachrichten FRANZ SCHUBERT ORCHESTRA NEW YORK – Salieri, D-Major Mass “… Salieri’s D-Major Mass – as performed by men singers of the Westminster Choir, 50 choristers from the American Boychoir School and the Franz Schubert Orchestra New York, all conducted by Christoph Campestrini – was one of the most beautiful settings of the mass that this listener has heard. The men’s voices blended with those of the boys in an ear-caressing manner, and the singing was effectively enhanced by the velvety playing by the Schubert orchestra. The young-looking Campestrini conducted with youthful energy and a nice sense of phrasing.” The New York Times b i o......r e v i e w s.....w e b s i t e back to roster...up

N E W S R O S T E R C O N T A C T L I N K S