Between Freedom and Love

Acclaimed by both musicians and audiences for his dynamic leadership and exhilarating interpretations, Dima Slobodeniouk stands among the most respected conductors today.

Slobodeniouk collaborates with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Soloists with whom he has collaborated include Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Khatia Buniatishvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Isabelle Faust, Kirill Gerstein, Barbara Hannigan, Håkan Hardenberger, Alexandre Kantorow, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Beatrice Rana, Yuja Wang, and Frank Peter Zimmermann.

Known for his musical expertise and interpretive depth, Slobodeniouk is also an acclaimed recording artist. Recent notable recordings include Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicolas Altstaedt (Alpha) which received an ICMA Award. His latest release on the BIS label features Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, Symphony in C and Symphonies of Wind Instruments recorded with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, where he served as Music Director. Other releases on this label include works by Kalevi Aho with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, winner of the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Award, a subsequent disc of Aho’s Sieidi and Fifth Symphony, as well as a disc featuring music inspired by the Finnish folk epic, the Kalevala. For the Ondine label, Slobodeniouk has recorded works by Perttu Haapanen and Lotta Wennäkoski with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Slobodeniouk studied with Ukrainian violinist Olga Parkhomenko at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, graduating in 2001. It was there that he also took up his conducting studies with Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula, and Atso Almila.

Dima Slobodeniouk served as Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia from 2013 to 2022, Principal Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2021, and the Artistic Director of the Sibelius Festival. Together with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, he built an extensive and highly acclaimed media library of live concert recordings in recent years. A passionate believer in widening opportunity, he launched a conducting initiative during his tenure, giving aspiring conductors podium time with a professional orchestra and the opportunity to work with him on selected repertoire.

Soprano Chen Reiss performed leading parts at the Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Teatro alla Scala, Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam,Wiener Festwochen, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Israeli Opera.

In 2016 She sang Morgana (Alcina) under Marc Minkowski at the Vienna State Opera, as well as Gretel and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier). With the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta, she sang a gala concert for Suntory Hall 30th Anniversary. In the same year Ms. Reiss also made her debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Daniele Gatti and sang Marzelline (Fidelio) with the Israel Philharmonic. In 2017 she will sing Zdenka (Arabella) and Marzelline (Fidelio) at the Vienna State Opera, Liu (Turandot) with the Israel Philharmonic, as well as  concerts with the Chicago Symphony, Munich Philharmonic and Lucerne symphony. She will perform at the London Proms, Lucerne Festival, SHMF and many more. Her debut at the Royal Opera House under Antonio Pappano is planned for 2018.

In December 2014 Chen Reiss was invited to sing for Pope Francis during the Christmas Mass, which was broadcast worldwide. Accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle, Ms. Reiss sang the soundtrack to the film “Perfume”. A frequent soloist at important concert venues worldwide, Ms. Reiss sang with distinguished conductors such as: Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Harding, Manfred Honeck, Marek Janowski, Paavo Järvi, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Mark Minkowski, Jonathan Nott, Donald Runnicles, Jeffrey Tate, Christian Thielemann and Franz Welser-Möst.

She performed concerts at the Salzburg, Ludwigsburg, Rheingau and Lucerne Festivals, as well as in Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein and Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Other concert appearances include: Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Philharmonie Berlin, Concerto Köln, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Pittsburgh Symphony and Dallas Symphony, among others.

Her operatic repertoire includes: Gilda (Rigoletto), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Amina (LA Sonnambula), Nannetta (Falstaff), Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Marie (La fille du régiment), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Zdenka (Arabella), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Ilia (Idomeneo), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Konstanze (Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), Adele (Die Fledermaus), and the title role in Das Schlaue Füchslein.

Her solo album, LIAISONS, won the Diapason D’or in 2011. On her latest album “Le Rossignol et la Rose” Chen Reiss presents a romantic compilation of songs with distinguished pianist Charles Spencer.