The contract of the new chief conductor of Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Sanderling came into force

On August 15 the contract of the new chief conductor of Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Sanderling officially came into force. The first concerts of Maestro in the new status will take place on September 17 and 18, 2017 and will be dedicated to the memory of the creator of the orchestra Arnold Kats.

Thomas Sanderling is a representative of the musical dynasty, a world-class conductor with a career in the West. According to the decision of Dmitry Shostakovich he performed the premiere of the composer's symphonies in Germany. He collaborated with such conductors as Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein. Born in Novosibirsk during the evacuation of the Leningrad Philharmonic, Thomas Sanderling continued communication with our city: he collaborated with Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra for several decades (the first performance with the orchestra took place in 1977), the last ten years he worked as the main guest conductor of the orchestra, took part in its foreign tours and recordings on prestigious labels.

"Novosibirsk is an important cultural center not only of a huge region, and this is confirmed by my colleagues," said Thomas Sanderling in his interview to "Special Radio". "I was congratulated by Charles Dutoit, he remembers the orchestra, he has great souvenirs from the work with the orchestra as with very professional collective, both in atmosphere and in spirit. Vladimir Fedoseev really enjoyed working with our orchestra, and he told me about it. Just saw Andris Poga in Riga, who was in Novosibirsk, he also enjoyed much. Here there is a great background for feeling good in a professional sense. It's very pleasant and important to see that there is a serious audience in the city that really appreciates this genre, this art." All the mentioned conductors cooperated with Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra within the framework of the Trans-Siberian Art Festival by Vadim Repin.

Also, Thomas Sanderling noted that he sees the task of the artistic director "not to make "new things". His task is to ensure a high level of performances and develop the orchestra. Global changes in the repertoire policy of the orchestra do not apply to my wishes. It is more important for us to develop good relations with the public. And most importantly, we want to understand its needs. And if there is an established union with the audience it is the artist's responsibility to present something new, but in a reasonable, careful dosage. The most important thing is that this new, modern - no matter whether of Russian composers or foreign ones - always has to come from the sincere belief of the performers that this is a work of high artistic level".

"Thomas Sanderling became the new chief conductor by the decision of the artistic council of the orchestra. The contract is concluded for three years, - commented Vladimir Kaluzhsky, artistic director of Novosibirsk State Philharmonic Society. - We are confident that Maestro Sanderling in the new status will bring to the orchestra new professional and creative sensations. It is also very important that the conductor is ready to give up various kinds of foreign proposals and spend a considerable time in Novosibirsk, working closely with the orchestra."

From 2007 to 2017 Gintaras Rinkevičius worked as the artistic director and principal conductor with Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, leading the team after the death of Arnold Kats, the founder and the permanent head of the collective for more than 50 years. "He came in the difficult time for the orchestra and for the philharmonic society when we were left without a hall. But in spite of any difficulties he accepted our offer. And, in my opinion, the level of the orchestra with the maestro has grown, he achieved a lot, - says Nikolai Sizikov, manager of Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, - But time goes by, and this is a normal world practice, when the conductor, having worked for a period, accepts another offer. Gintaras received another proposal. By mutual agreement we decided to part ways. I hope, we will invite and see him on our stage anyway."

In recent years under the leadership of Thomas Sanderling the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra realized several important international tours, in particular, in 2016, the orchestra performed in such a prestigious venue as Concert House in Vienna, concerts of the anniversary tour were held in Aachen, Dusseldorf, Murcia, Madrid, Zaragoza and Alicante. In 2012 the orchestra led by Thomas Sanderling performed at the former factory for the production of ballistic missiles of the Third Reich in Peenemünde. Now this building is one of the concert venues of the prestigious festival on the island of Usedom. The performance of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony by the Siberian collective, which is a subject of national pride for the Germans, was rated so highly that later, on Christmas days, this recording was broadcasted on the radio throughout Germany. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the prestigious record label Naxos released three compact discs with Sergei Taneev's works performed by Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Thomas Sanderling.

Fabio Mastrangelo will continue to work with the orchestra as the main guest conductor. He has been holding this position for the last 10 years.