Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg
Gustavo Gimeno
Gustavo Gimeno in conversation with Lydia Rilling
One of Gustavo Gimeno’s many virtues is that he always sees the positive aspect of a situation. In that spirit, he also begins our conversation during a rehearsal week amidst the pandemic: «I am so happy to be allowed to perform. Each rehearsal and every concert gives me immeasurable joy. At first we thought it would be impossible to play under all these restrictions. But together, we managed much better than we would ever have expected. That is a joyful experience: despite facemasks, physical distancing and other obstacles, we play, and no one can stop the music. Those are touching aspects in this dramatic context.»
Then Gimeno starts to look ahead to the coming season. Each concert with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg has special meaning to him, both with a view to programming and artistic partners. He will open the season with the ballet The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky. «We will record the full ballet – not merely the suite –, thereby launching an exciting new chapter, our collaboration with the renowned label harmonia mundi. During the past months, we have made lots of plans, and they begin with Stravinsky.» In January 2022 the pianist Beatrice Rana will perform with him and the OPL for the first time: «I admire her greatly and have shared the stage with her several times elsewhere, but never here. That was a long-standing wish of mine, and we will also undertake our Spanish tour, which has now become a tradition, with her.»
Gimeno intends to continue several of the thematic threads of past seasons during the coming one: «There is a great affinity and history of the orchestra with French music, but certain composers are missing. That’s why it is so important for us to play Messiaen. And after several opera productions of Rossini and Verdi works, we now perform Puccini’s Messa.»
Gimeno has been chief conductor of the orchestra since 2015. To him, the six years they have spent together have borne significant fruit: «We have reached a higher level together and are a better team than ever before. Even if every project also feels like a fresh start, we achieve much more within a shorter period of time, and the concerts we play reach a level that keeps getting even better.» Gimeno will lead the orchestra until 2025, and he has so many plans that they will undoubtedly be four fulfilling years.
Cover photo: Marco Borggreve
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Répétition publique / Öffentliche Probe / Public rehearsal
For this concert, all visitors aged six and up must show proof of eligibility to attend via CovidCheck. For further information, click here
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Diana Damrau
soprano
At the Philharmonie, the season opening of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg heralds the end of summer, but portends other pleasures. In its first concert of the new season, the orchestra is joined by soprano Diana Damrau, whose glowing timbre illuminates songs by Richard Strauss. Igor Stravinsky’s ballet music The Firebird, which the composer wrote at the age of only 18, boasts an orchestration already replete with the colourful imagination so characteristic of Stravinsky. The chief conductor of the OPL, Gustavo Gimeno, leads the orchestra and also offers an outlook on the coming season during an artist talk at the Grand Auditorium at 19:15.
For this concert, all visitors aged six and up must show proof of eligibility to attend via CovidCheck. For further information, click here
Ce concert sera enregistré par radio 100.7 et retransmis en direct.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
For this concert, all visitors aged twelve years old and two months and up must show proof of eligibility to attend via CovidCheck. You must wear a facemask for your entire stay at the Philharmonie, including for the duration of the concert, if you are over the age of 6. Concerts presented under CovidCheck rules will take place at full seating capacity. For further information, click here
Restauration disponible sur place
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Wiener Singverein
Pueri Cantores du Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Gerhild Romberger
alto
On 10.12. the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg delves into Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony under the baton of Gustavo Gimeno, joined by soloist Gerhild Romberger, the Wiener Singverein and Pueri Cantores. The work’s programme is an epic tale of earth’s creation. Beginning with a monumental first movement (of six), it closes with a resolutely optimistic finale, which one critic declared the most beautiful slow movement since Beethoven when it was first performed in its entirety. Before the concert, David Christoffel dedicates a lecture in French to the subject «Gustav Mahler, précurseur de l’écologie sonore?».
For this concert, all visitors aged twelve years old and two months and up must show proof of eligibility to attend via CovidCheck. You must wear a facemask for your entire stay at the Philharmonie, including for the duration of the concert, if you are over the age of 6. Concerts presented under CovidCheck rules will take place at full seating capacity. For further information, click here
Ce concert sera enregistré par radio 100,7 et retransmis en direct.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Wiener Singverein
Dutch National Youth Choir
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Gerhild Romberger
alto
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Emmanuel Pahud
flûte
Ce concert sera enregistré par radio 100,7 et retransmis en direct.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Beatrice Rana
piano
After her recital debut at the Philharmonie in June, the young pianist Beatrice Rana now joins the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg under its chief conductor Gustavo Gimeno for the first time on Jan. 14. Her virtuosity and musical intelligence will be on display in Sergey Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, a late-romantic highlight. This work is framed by subito con forza by the Korean composer Unsuk Chin and César Franck’s Symphony in D-minor.
This concert takes place under the CovidCheck 2G+ regulations (vaccinated or recovered) for visitors aged 12 years and 2 months and up. The CovidCheck 3G+ rule applies only for visitors aged over 12 years and two months and under 19 and neither vaccinated nor recovered: (a negative Covid-19 test in accordance to Luxembourgish law which is valid on the day of the concert is also accepted). You must wear a facemask for your entire stay at the Philharmonie, including for the duration of the concert, if you are over the age of 6. For further information, click here
Ce concert sera enregistré par radio 100.7 et retransmis en direct.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Beatrice Rana
piano
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Beatrice Rana
piano
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Beatrice Rana
piano
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Beatrice Rana
piano
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Beatrice Rana
piano
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
This concert takes place under the CovidCheck 3G regulations (vaccinated, recovered or tested negative) for visitors aged 12 years and 2 months and up. You must wear a facemask for your entire stay at the Philharmonie, including for the duration of the concert, if you are over the age of 6. For further information, click here
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Isabelle Faust
violon
Sensuous and gripping sounds from three musical individualists – such is the territory the OPL, Gustavo Gimeno and artist-in-residence Isabelle Faust chart at the Grand Auditorium on Feb. 25: Benjamin Britten, Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Ravel. Britten’s Violin Concerto, written while the composer was on his way into exile in the USA, is as rich in dramatic contrasts as in nuanced sonic discoveries – such as also characterize Dutilleux’ First Symphony. In this concert, it follows Ravel’s sparkling and profound La Valse before the evening’s soloist invites the audience to intimate and personal sonic voyages, in keeping with the spirit of «Aventure+».
This concert takes place under the CovidCheck 3G regulations (vaccinated, recovered or tested negative) for visitors aged 12 years and 2 months and up. You must wear a facemask for your entire stay at the Philharmonie, including for the duration of the concert, if you are over the age of 6. For further information, click here
Ce concert sera enregistré par radio 100,7 et retransmis le 4 mai 2022.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Orfeó Català
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Charles Castronovo
ténor
Ludovic Tézier
baryton
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Orfeó Català
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Charles Castronovo
ténor
Ludovic Tézier
baryton
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Orfeó Català
Gustavo Gimeno
direction
Charles Castronovo
ténor
Ludovic Tézier
baryton
Giacomo Puccini is remembered by audiences, but also by music historians, mainly as an opera composer. However, the catalogue of works by the creator of musical theatre highlights such as Tosca or Madame Butterfly also includes works for symphony orchestra – with or without chorus – that are well worth discovering. Together with the tenor Charles Castronovo, the baritone Ludovic Tézier and the chorus Orfeó Català, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Gustavo Gimeno approach this less familiar, but by no means less intriguing side of Puccini. This will also be illuminated by a pre-concert talk in French by Anne Payot-Le Nabour.
Ce concert sera enregistré par radio 100,7 et retransmis le 15 juin 2022.