David Afkham returns to the Orquesta y Coro Nacional de España, where he is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, for three exciting performances of Robert Schumann’s epic secular oratorio, Scenes from Goethe’s Faust, on June 13, 14, and 15. Written between 1844 and 1853, this ambitious three-part work is scored for {…}
On June 5, David Afkham appears at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall, leading the Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real in an exciting gala concert. Entitled A Musical Fantasy from Spain, the concert also features two incredible Spanish artists: violinist María Dueñas and soprano Saioa Hernández, making her American debut. The diverse {…}
On May 16, David Afkham makes an exciting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, bringing his “considerable interpretive insight” (Chicago Tribune) to an expressive and eclectic program. The concert opens with Lili Boulanger’s haunting and deeply emotional D’un soir triste, one of her final compositions, written in 1917–1918 when the {…}
On April 4, 5, 6 and 11, 12, and 13, David Afkham returns to the Orquesta Nacional de España, where he is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, to conduct Mahler’s deeply personal and emotionally intense Symphony No. 6, often called Tragic Symphony. Many consider the work to be eerily prophetic; {…}
On March 14 and 15, David Afkham joins the Orchestre National de Lyon for a program of Beethoven, Berg, and Brahms, featuring violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. The concert opens with Beethoven’s powerful and intense Coriolan Overture, written for a play, Coriolan, based on the story of the Roman general Gaius {…}
David Afkham makes his highly-anticipated debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on February 21 and 23, with a program that highlights the music of Johannes Brahms, W.A. Mozart, and Outi Tarkiainen. The program opens with Tarkiainen’s The Ring of Fire and Love, an intense exploration of the moment of birth, followed {…}