“A conductor of genius” New York Times
Karel Mark Chichon, now recognized as a young conductor of the highest calibre , was described by the New York Times as “A conductor of genius”. He is the newly elected Chief Conductor of the Latvian National Symphon Orchestra from 2009 to 2012 and has been the Chief Conductor of the Graz Symphony Orchestra since 2006. He is also the Principal Conductor of the European Sinfonietta and Artistic Director of the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society.
In the 2004/2005 season, Karel Mark Chichon made an impressive debut at Graz Opera conducting Zauberflöte and was immediately re-invited to conduct a new production of Der Wildschütz and performances of Tosca. He was also invited by the Vienna Philharmonic to conduct concerts at their International Orchestra Institute in Salzburg and made a return visit in 2005. He made a highly successful UK debut with the English Chamber Orchestra conducting Handel´s Messiah at London´s Cadogan Hall as well as with the Seoul Philharmonic in a Gala concert with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore and tenor Joseph Calleja. In December 2004 he co nducted a very successful concert with the Oviedo Symphony and was immediately invited to work with several other Spanish orchestras.
In the 2005-2006 season, Karel Mark Chichon continued to make his mark on the international scene. He made his Vienna debut with the Vienna Symphony as well as at the Schubertiade Festival in Schwarzenberg (Austria), St Gallen Opera House (Switzerland), China National Symphony and Taiwan National Symphony. He returned to the Vienna Philharmonic/IOIA for the summer of 2006, sharing the podium with Valery Gergiev. He also returned to the English Chamber Orchestra for several tours of Spain and the Seoul Philharmonic for a tour of ten concerts of South Korea. Other return engagements this season included the New York Chamber Orchestra, Oviedo Symphony (Spain), Latvian National Symphony and Latvian National Opera Orchestra.
In the 2006-2007 season Karel Mark Chichon made his debuts with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (with Grace Bumbry, Juan Diego Flórez and the Vienna Boys Choir), Helsinki Philharmonic, Lübeck Philharmonic (Germany), Tiroler/Innsbruck Symphony (Austria), Erfurt Symphony (Germany), Niederrheinische Symphony (Germany), Prague Symphony (with Joseph Calleja), Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano & Trento (Italy), Shanghai Symphony, Taipei Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Guandong Philharmonic (China), as well as return visits to the English Chamber Orchestra (with Nicola Benedetti and Julian Lloyd Webber), Seoul Philharmonic, Oviedo Symphony and Latvian National Symphony.
The 2007-2008 season saw concerts with the Graz Symphony at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, a new production of Barbiere di Siviglia at the Vienna Volksoper, a new production of Carmen (with Elina Garanca in the title role) at the Latvian National Opera and Bolshoi Theater of Moscow and his debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. He will also return to the Vienna Symphony, Vienna Radio Symphony (with José Cura), English Chamber Orchestra, Tiroler/Innsbruck Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic (for ten concerts throughout South Korea) and Latvian National Symphony.
The 2008-9 season will see his debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerisches Staatsoper, Arena di Verona (16 performances of Carmen and Verdi: Requiem), Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Philharmonia Orchestra London, SWR Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, WienerkammerOrchester, Russian National Orchestra, UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Moscow, Barcelona, Valencia. He also returns to the Wiener Symphoniker, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, English Chamber Orchestra, Haydn Orchestra Bolzano, Latvian National Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic.
He is a frequent guest conductor with leading orchestras throughout the world at venues such as the Musikverein Wien, Konzerthaus Wien, Royal Festival Hall London, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris, Berlin Philharmonie, Munich Philharmonie, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Alter Oper Frankfurt, Festpielhaus Baden-Baden, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and Seoul Arts Center South Korea, Sejong Arts Centre South Korea. Chichon is a frequent performer in Spain, where he continues to perform at all the major venues such as Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Monumental of Madrid (where he conducted the Millennium New Year's Concert) and the Palau de la Musica of Barcelona and of Valencia.
Born in London in 1971, Chichon studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) where he attended master-classes with Sir Colin Davis and Sir Simon Rattle and won three major prizes. He furthered his studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna with Leopold Hager and was Assistant Conductor to Giuseppe Sinopoli from 1999 to 2001.
At the age of 24, Chichon was elected Chief Conductor of the Craiova State Philharmonic Orchestra of Romania, where he remained from 1995 to 1998. During this time he conducted over 60 symphonic and operatic works that formed his core repertoire.
In 1998 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society, a position he still holds. During this time the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society has become one of the most important cultural institutions in the South of the Iberian peninsula, attracting artists such as the English Chamber Orchestra, José Carreras, Elina Garanca, Diana Damrau, Adrian Eröd, Isabel Rey, Angela Brown, Sergei Kyrlov, Guy Braunstein, Franz Bartolomey and Peter Schmidl. Many of the concerts are held in St Michael's Cave, a unique and historic natural cave with superb acoustics, located high up on the Rock.
In 1999 he also became Artistic Director & Principal Conductor of the London-based orchestra The European Sinfonietta, with whom he toured throughout Spain to great critical acclaim.
Chichon undertook a highly successful tour of Spain in 2003 with the English Chamber Orchestra. Since then he has become a frequent guest conductor with the acclaimed British orchestra, performing concerts in London and further tours of Spain.
Chichon has also worked with some of the greatest names in opera, such as José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé (including a recording for BMG/RCA), Grace Bumbry, Edita Gruberova, José Cura, Juan Diego Flórez, Ramón Vargas, Carlos Álvarez, Jennifer Larmore and Jerome Hines.
His other orchestral engagements include City of London Sinfonia, Halle Philharmonic, Vienna Concert-Verein, New York Chamber Orchestra, Norddeutsche Philharmonie (Germany), Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic (Germany), Frankfurt Chamber Orchestra, Lucerne Symphony, Graz Philharmonic, Vorarlberg Symphony (Austria), Israel Sinfonietta, Castilla y Leon Symphony (Spain), Budapest Philharmonic, Enescu Bucharest Philharmonic, Lithuanian State Symphony, Latvian National Symphony, Hungarian State Opera, Ucraine National State Symphony.
Chichon’s extrovert style and eclectic musical tastes make him a natural on stage. The New York Times described him as “a youthful conductor of genius….. the outstanding musical event of the weekend was Chichon’s reading of Beethoven’s monumental Seventh Symphony…….The grandeur of his way with Beethoven was astonishing…….There was nothing external in Chichon's Beethoven - everything from piano to forte, to thrilling crescendi came from within…... He conducted La Traviata with love and dedicated support for his singers…..brought out the full poignancy of Verdi's masterpiece"
Karel Mark Chichon was Resident Conductor of the 2001 and 2002 "Summer Music Festival on the Greene" held in New York, in which he conducted operatic productions of La Traviata, I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. During this time he also conducted Zauberflöte at Lucerne Opera in Switzerland.
www.karelmarkchichon.com
Date Last Edited: October 2008
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