Marin Alsop makes history once again this Thursday, October 24.
Already the first woman to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the United States, South America and Britain, she added Austria to the list when she inaugurated her tenure as the first female Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.
To open the ensemble’s landmark 50th anniversary season, she leads a program pairing works by Hindemith with Rapture by her late friend and colleague, Christopher Rouse, and the world premiere of a new commission from award-winning Russian-American composer Lera Auerbach.
Held at the Vienna Konzerthaus, where it will be recorded for a subsequent radio broadcast, the Opening Night kicks off the two weeks of concerts, masterclasses, talks and workshops that launch Alsop’s first Vienna RSO season.
Showcasing the work of female composers and conductors with related educational initiatives, the orchestra’s 2019-20 programming reflects its new Chief Conductor’s pioneering role in the campaign for gender equality in music.
Looking ahead to her new tenure, Alsop says:
“Vienna is a musical city like no other and was central to the careers of my idols – Mahler and Bernstein, both of whose compositions I have conducted with this orchestra and look forward to performing again this season.I am excited to get started with the Vienna RSO during its anniversary season and to work with these great musicians on a wide range of concert repertoire, including world premieres, as well as on recordings, tours and educational initiatives. It’s significant to me to have the chance to work with emergent female conductors and conduct music by three terrific female composers.”
One of the foremost conductors of our time, Alsop is as celebrated for her compelling readings of core masterworks as for her tireless advocacy of new composition. Currently serving as Music Director of both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and a regular and highly sought-after guest on the world’s most prominent podiums, she looks forward to collaborating with Carnegie Hall next year on “Altogether: A Global Ode to Joy,” a worldwide celebration of Beethoven at 250 that sees her leading the composer’s Ninth Symphony with ten orchestras on six continents.
Alsop is also the founder of such change-making initiatives as the Taki Concordia Fellowship, which promotes and nurtures the careers of emerging female conductors, and the Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids, a music education program for local youth that fosters social change.
The first conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, she received the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award earlier this year, recognising her championship of diversity in the classical world.
