Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Extended Concert Programme | Tue 19 December 2023

Kirill Karabits
Conductor

Kirill Karabits has been Chief Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for 15 years and their relationship has been celebrated worldwide. Together they have made many critically acclaimed recordings, performed regularly at the BBC Proms and appeared together at London’s Barbican Centre as part of the Beethoven celebrations.

Karabits has worked with many of the leading ensembles of Europe, Asia and North America, including the Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago Symphony orchestras, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro La Fenice and the BBC Symphony Orchestra – including a concertante version of Bluebeard’s Castle at the Barbican Centre.

Recent highlights include Kirill’s return to the English National Opera for a production of Die tote Stadt, to Opernhaus Zürich for La Boheme, and to The Grange Festival for Così fan tutte. Last season saw Kirill perform with Opéra National de Bordeaux, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, and embark on an extensive Korean Tour conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe alongside pianist Sunwook Kim. Kirill has also enjoyed conducting at the Edinburgh Festival and joining Mikhail Pletnev on extensive European and North American tours which included his New York debut at the Lincoln Center.

Highlights of the 2023-24 season include Kirill’s return to the Dallas Symphony, the Weimar Staatskapelle conducting the Hungarian premiere of Liszt’s Sardanapalo Opera, and to the Theater an der Wien for a new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette Opera. Alongside his own Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kirill will open the season at the newly refurbished Bristol Beacon with a brand new work Beacons, written by Mark Anthony Turnage and dedicated to the venue. On an invitation from the Ludwig van Beethoven Association in Poland, Kirill conducts Krzysztof Penderecki’s momentous Polish Requiem at the opening of the Polish History Museum in Warsaw as part of a series of television recordings for Kultura TV.

A prolific opera conductor, Karabits has worked with the Deutsche Oper, Opernhaus Zürich (Boris Godunov, La Bohème) and Oper Stuttgart (Death in Venice), Glyndebourne Festival Opera (La Bohème, Eugene Onegin), Staatsoper Hamburg (Madama Butterfly), English National Opera (Don Giovanni, Die tote Stadt), The Grange Festival (Così fan tutte) ,and he conducted a performance of Der fliegende Holländer at the Wagner Geneva Festival in celebration of the composer’s anniversary. Music Director of the Deutsches Nationaltheatre Weimar from 2016-19, Karabits conducted acclaimed productions of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Tannhäuser as well as Mozart’s DaPonte Cycle (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte).

Working with the next generation of bright musicians is of great importance to Kirill, and as Artistic Director of I, CULTURE Orchestra he conducted them on their European tour in August 2015 with Lisa Batiashvili as soloist and a summer Festivals’ tour in 2018, including concerts at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Montpellier Festival. In 2012 and 2014 he conducted the televised finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award (working with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra), and has collaborated with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on a UK tour, including a critically acclaimed performance at the Barbican.

Kirill was named Conductor of the Year at the 2013 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards.

Sunwook Kim
Piano

Sunwook Kim came to international recognition when he won the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006, aged just 18, becoming the competition’s youngest winner for 40 years, as well as its first Asian winner. Since then, he has established a reputation as one of the finest pianists of his generation, appearing as a concerto soloist in the subscription series of some of the world’s leading orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Finnish Radio Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Orchestra of Wales, Radio-France Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Hallé Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for his BBC Proms debut in Summer 2014. Conductor collaborations include with Jakub Hrusa, Karina Canellakis, Nathalie Stutzmann, Thomas Sondergard, Tugan Sokhiev, Daniel Harding, Paavo Järvi, David Afkham, Edward Gardner, John Elliot Gardiner, Myung-Whun Chung, Osmo Vänskä, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Kirill Karabits, Marek Janowski, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Manze, Vassily Sinaisky, Michael Sanderling and Sir Mark Elder.

Recital highlights to date include regular appearances at the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London International Piano Series), in the ‘Piano 4 Etoiles’ series at the Philharmonie de Paris and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Piano aux Jacobin Festival, AIX Festival, La Roque d’Antheron International Piano Festival (France) as well as at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festspiele, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, Kioi Hall in Tokyo, Symphony Hall Osaka and Seoul Arts Centre. Sunwook is also a keen chamber musician and has collaborated with singers.

Recent concerto highlights include collaborations with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Tianyi Lu), London Symphony Orchestra (Michael Tilson Thomas), Chamber Orchestra of Europe to tour South Korea as well as to the Seoul Philharmonic in their tour of Europe (Concertgebouw, Cadogan Hall). Other performances included with the Pannon Philharmonic, Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Bamberger Symphoniker. Sunwook also returned to Bournemouth Symphony both as soloist (Karabits) and to conduct Dvorak’s Cello Concerto alongside Brahms Symphony No. 2. Sunwook’s return to the Bournemouth Symphony as conductor follows his instant success having made his play-direct debut with the orchestra and international conducting debut with the KBS Symphony only last season. In August 2022, Sunwook also had the honour to conduct the Seoul Philharmonic in their National Liberation Day Concert marking the 77th anniversary of Korea’s National Liberation Day and in December 2022 returned to conduct three performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. Further conducting debuts included with the Fundación Excelentia Madrid and Macao Orchestra.

In the 2023/24 season, Sunwook will make his debut with Atlanta Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Gävle Symfoniorkester as well as his conducting debuts with the National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (Budapest), Georges Enescu Philharmonic and Filharmonia Śląska (Poland). Sunwook will also return to conduct the Seoul Philharmonic and Bournemouth Symphony and as soloist with BBC Philharmonic. In September 2023, Sunwook was announced as the next Music Director of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra for an initial term until December 2025.

Sunwook Kim’s debut recital disc was released on the Accentus label in October 2015, featuring Beethoven’s Waldstein and Hammerklavier sonatas, this was followed by a recording of Franck’s Prelude, choral et fugue paired with Brahms Sonata No.3. He has released further recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, Sonata No. 8; Pathetique, Sonata No. 14; Moonlight and Sonata No. 23; Appassionata as well as sonatas No. 30-32 and his most recent chamber music release features the Violin Sonatas of Beethoven in collaboration with Clara-Jumi Kang. His discography also includes multiple concerto recordings; on Accentus Music with the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Myung-Whun Chung featuring Brahms’ Piano Concerto no. 1 (2019) and Six Piano Pieces (2020) in addition to recordings on Deutsche Grammophon with the Seoul Philharmonic conducted by Myung-Whun Chung, a CD featuring Unsuk Chin’s Piano Concerto (2014) which attracted outstanding reviews and awards from BBC Music Magazine and International Classical Music Awards, and a CD featuring Beethoven Concerto No.5 (2013).

Born in Seoul in 1988, Sunwook completed an MA in conducting at the Royal Academy of Music and was subsequently made a fellow (FRAM) of the Royal Academy of Music in 2019. Besides Leeds, international awards include the first prize at the 2004 Ettlingen Competition (Germany) and the 2005 Clara Haskil Competition (Switzerland). In 2013, Sunwook was selected by the Beethoven-Haus Bonn to become the first beneficiary of its new Mentoring.

Composer Profile: Mark-Anthony Turnage

In a short profile it is impossible to do more than scratch the surface of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s rich and varied achievements over the past four decades. Now in his early sixties, he has added important works to all genres, and commands a reputation as among the internationally foremost composers of our time. Turnage also holds strong views about the importance of music in society, and in particular, the lives of young people, especially in schools. Unsurprisingly, his is a committed mentor and teacher, holding the post of Research Fellow at the Royal College of Music. For his services to music he was made CBE in the 2015.

Turnage’s music is instantly recognisable, its distinctiveness created from the lyrical character of his melodic ideas, edgy harmony (which can be bluesy or dissonant), rhythmic, driving energy, and colourful instrumental writing, to which can be often added a sense of drama, or equally a streak of melancholy. Significant too are the influences that he has absorbed into his personal voice from Stravinsky to jazz (in particular Miles Davis), from Black American fusion to Britten and Berg. He also has a penchant for instantly memorable titles which intrigue and draw in the listener. His wide-ranging inspiration ranges from painters, writers, contemporary issues, as well as by the musical personalities of the artists he is writing for.

Turnage studied at the Royal College of Music with John Lambert and Oliver Knussen, the latter nurturing his talents and becoming a close friend. In 1983 a Mendelssohn Scholarship enabled him to study with Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood, where he also met Hans Werner Henze. During his twenties Turnage composed a series of gripping works which laid out his credentials beginning with Night Dances (1981). Henze’s encouragement led to Turnage’s first opera, Greek (1986-8), premiered at the 1988 Munich Biennale, which brought him to international attention. For Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra he composed Three Screaming Popes (1988-9): a four-year residency with the orchestra followed which included Momentum (1990-91) and Drowned Out (1992-3).

That decade laid the foundation for Turnage’s subsequent career. There have been numerous residencies with, for example, English National Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony orchestras. His rapport with artists has resulted in, amongst many others, a trumpet concerto, From the Wreckage (2004) for Håkan Hardenberger, the violin concerto Mambo, Blues and Tarantella (2007) for Christian Tetzlaff, and a Piano Concerto (2013) for Marc-André Hamelin. Collaborations with jazz musicians have been equally important, such as Blood on the Floor (1993-6) with guitarist John Scofield, percussionist Peter Erskine and saxophonist Martin Robertson, and Bass Inventions (2000) for Dave Holland. In addition, he has composed works for the great orchestras of the world, including the New York Philharmonic – Scherzoid (2003-4), Berlin Philharmonic – Ceres (2006), London Symphony – Speranza (2013) and Remembering (2015), Cleveland – On Open Ground (2002).

The success of Greek led to two full scale operas, The Silver Tassie (1997-99), premiered by English National Opera in 2000, and Anna Nicole (2008-10) for the Royal Opera. His chamber opera, Coraline (2018), premiered at the Barbican, was also a ROH commission. Other stage works include ballet scores such as Trespass (2011), for the Royal Ballet. Composing for the voice has been another of Turnage’s pre-occupations, as witnessed in a recent series of song cycles for leading singers: Gerald Findley, Without Ceremony (2019); Allan Clayton, Silenced (2020); and Dame Sarah Connolly, Songs of Sleep and Regret (2020).

The composer’s skill in matching music to words is profound, as is also exemplified in Testament (2017), the first collaboration between Turnage, Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Jointly commissioned with Staatskapelle Wiemar, it was premiered in Poole in 2018, with the soprano soloist Natalya Romaniw. Testament comprises powerful settings of Ukrainian poets past and present, and was described by Ivan Hewitt in The Daily Telegraph as ‘a prolonged cry of defiance against the oppression suffered by Ukraine at Russian hands down the centuries’.

© Andrew Burn

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

One of the UK’s best-loved orchestras, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is a professional ensemble known for championing the role of culture in people’s lives. Based at Lighthouse, Poole, the Orchestra has residencies in Bournemouth, Bristol, Exeter, Portsmouth, Southampton and Yeovil — it is the largest cultural provider in the South West, serving one of the biggest and most diverse regions in the UK.

The Orchestra, under its Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits, is known for pushing artistic boundaries, and its ongoing series of music from former Soviet states, Voices from the East, continues to gain praise. Boasting an enviable list of principal conductors, including Marin Alsop, the first female principal conductor of a major UK orchestra, the BSO has given memorable performances worldwide and with regular live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM.

The Orchestra’s livestreamed concerts have cemented its reputation for presenting live symphonic music of the highest quality; its performances remain popular around the globe, with around 900 online viewers joining concert hall audiences for each performance. In 2023/24, the series features guest artists such as Alina Ibragimova, Sunwook Kim and Awadagin Pratt alongside a host of the UK’s leading music broadcasters. The Orchestra also reunites with Seeta Patel Dance in a Bharatanatyam interpretation of The Rite of Spring following critical acclaim this spring — and pianist Alexander Malofeev, a former winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, becomes Artist-in-Residence, following popular appearances in recent seasons.

Committed to new music, the BSO has presented premiere performances of works by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Carmen Ho, Magnus Lindberg, Anna Korsun, Elizabeth Ogonek and Shirley J. Thompson OBE in recent years. In 2023/24 it gives world premiere performances of new works by Jonathan Dove and Mark-Anthony Turnage when it returns to its residency at Bristol Beacon.

Challenging barriers to high-quality music for all, the BSO leads hundreds of community-based events each year, from its award-winning work in health and care settings to partnerships with schools and music education hubs. In the 2023/24 season, it will also welcome its second cohort of BSO Young Associate community music leaders. Following international attention for igniting change, BSO Resound — the world’s first professional disabled-led ensemble at the core of a major orchestra, and winner of the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society’s Impact Award — continues to challenge perceptions.

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