Ivor Bolton: Announced as blogging Insider for the Salzburger Festspiele this year
News
Ivor will be staging a unique experiment in coorperation with one of Austria’s biggest newspapers, the Salzburger Nachrichten, which sees Ivor blogging every couple of days live from the Festspiele about concerts, lifestyle, gossip and of course everything music.
Find the blog here:
Video interviews will also be added shortly to the site.
Ivor Bolton: International conductor, English gentleman – British success story
A world stage
Bayerische Staatsoper. Covent Garden. Glyndebourne. Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Opéra National de Paris. Many a prestigious house, festival and company has shared in the international success of British-born (and based) opera and concert conductor, Ivor Bolton. If you add to that list a string of well-received engagements in Amsterdam, Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon and Sydney, you have a snapshot of this respected musician’s world-class career.
Triumphs past and present
Debuting at Covent Garden in 1995 – where he’s appeared for the past three seasons – Bolton also enjoys a long association with Glyndebourne. He’s founding musical director of the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music, which this year celebrates its 25th year, and recently opened that festival in London with Concerto Köln, in a performance of Handel’s Athalia that earned him critical acclaim. The Guardian’s Tim Ashley described conductor and players as ‘resplendent’, while Richard Fairman at the FT noted how, ‘Bolton’s open-heartedness … lifted the performance out of the ordinary.’
A bright (and busy) future
Not content with simply touring productions in Europe, US, Japan and China during 2009, Bolton plans to achieve something almost unheard of. He’ll conduct a total of 19 performances at this summer’s Salzburger Festspiele as part of a programme packed with gems from Handel, Haydn and Mozart. He’ll open the festival with Handel’s oratorio, Theodora, staged by Christof Loy, broadcast live on Austrian national television. Throughout this summer conducting marathon, Bolton will appear as the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg’s Chief Conductor, a post he’s held since 2004 and has just been extended until 2015, and as Guest Conductor of the Freiburg Barockorchester.
Studio master
Bolton’s outstanding reputation stems from his live work – but his achievements in the studio are no less impressive. His Bach’s solo harpsichord concerti with the St. James Baroque Players (Bolton performing as conductor and soloist) saw him lauded by Gramophone for his ‘crisp, clear-sighted approach to the music’. He’s equally at home with later styles – his Bruckner Fifth Symphony with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg for Oehms Classics being highly praised. He’ll record the remaining Bruckner symphonies this year, and has already released Mozart’s Piano Concerti Nos. 20 and 23 with Lars Vogt.
About Ivor Bolton: The international Englishman
Originally from Blackrod in Lancashire, Bolton now calls Cambridge his home. He was organ scholar at Clare College Cambridge before taking a postgraduate degree at the Royal College of Music.
He then became Music Director of English Touring Opera and Glyndebourne Touring Opera, after that he was Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Bringing Handel’s operas to German houses brought him global renown – and he was awarded the prestigious Bayerische Theaterpreis for his outstanding work in Munich. Apart from his Salzburg commitments, Bolton’s plans in the coming season include Jenufa for the Teatro Real in Madrid, Tamerlano (with Placido Domingo) for Covent Garden, Mayr’s Medea in Corinto in Munich and Beethoven 9 over the New Year at the Konzerthaus in Vienna. He will also be performing for the first time at the Aix-En-Provence Festival with a production of Gluck’s Alceste.
Yet despite all his international success, Bolton remains an Englishman at heart.
Ivor Bolton – Conducting dates to August 30th 2009
Fri 31 Jul 09
IBO/Salzburg/Theodora
Salzburger Festspiele
Grosses Festspielehaus, Salzburg
HANDEL: Theodora
Sat 01 Aug 09
IBO/Mozart Matinees
Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Salzburg, Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg
MOZART: Divertimento in D major KV 131
MOZART: ‘L’ameró, saró costante (Amyntas) Il re pastore 2
MOZART: ‘Bella mia fiamma’ K.528
MOZART: Symphony no.39 in E flat K543
Sun 02 Aug 09
IBO/Mozart Matinees
Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Salzburg, Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg
MOZART: Divertimento in D major KV 131
MOZART: ‘L’ameró, saró costante (Amyntas) Il re pastore 2
MOZART: ‘Bella mia fiamma’ K.528
MOZART: Symphony no.39 in E flat K543
Sun 02 Aug 09
IBO Salzburg Festival Ingelstat Theodora
Ingolstadt
Salzburger Festspiele
Ingolstadt, Festhalle, Ingolstadt
HANDEL: Theodora
Wed 05 Aug 09
IBO/C minor mass/Salzburg
Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum
St Peter Church, Salzburg
MOZART: Mass No.18 in C minor ‘The Great’ K.427
Thu 06 Aug 09
IBO/Salzburg/Theodora
Salzburger Festspiele
Grosses Festspielehaus, Salzburg
HANDEL: Theodora
Sun 09 Aug 09
IBO/Salzburg/Theodora
Salzburger Festspiele
Grosses Festspielehaus, Salzburg
HANDEL: Theodora
Sat 15 Aug 09
IBO/Mozart Matinees
Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Salzburg, Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg
HAYDN: Symphony No. 26 in D minor, Hob. I:26 ‘Lamentatione’ (ca 1765)
HAYDN: Stabat Mater, HOB xx BIS
Sun 16 Aug 09
IBO/Mozart Matinees (11.00)
Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Salzburg, Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg
HAYDN: Symphony No. 26 in D minor, Hob. I:26 ‘Lamentatione’ (ca 1765)
HAYDN: Stabat Mater, HOB xx BIS
Sun 16 Aug 09
IBO/Salzburg/Theodora (eve)
Salzburger Festspiele
Grosses Festspielehaus, Salzburg
HANDEL: Theodora
Thu 20 Aug 09
IBO/Armida/Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Felsenreit Schule
HAYDN: Armida
Fri 21 Aug 09
IBO/Salzburg/Theodora
Salzburger Festspiele
Grosses Festspielehaus, Salzburg
HANDEL: Theodora
Sat 22 Aug 09
IBO/Armida/Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Felsenreit Schule
HAYDN: Armida
Tue 25 Aug 09
IBO/Armida/Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Felsenreit Schule
HAYDN: Armida
Wed 26 Aug 09
IBO/Salzburg/Theodora
Salzburger Festspiele
Grosses Festspielehaus, Salzburg
HANDEL: Theodora
Thu 27 Aug 09
IBO/Armida/Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Felsenreit Schule
HAYDN: Armida
Fri 28 Aug 09
IBO/Salzburg/Theodora
Salzburger Festspiele
Grosses Festspielehaus, Salzburg
HANDEL: Theodora
Sun 30 Aug 09
IBO/Armida/Salzburg
Salzburger Festspiele
Felsenreit Schule
HAYDN: Armida