Live from Konzerthaus Berlin

Vladimir Jurowski has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the RundfunkSinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB) since 2017. In 2023/2024, his concerts, tours and recordings were the highlights of the ‘RSB100’ anniversary season. His current contract in Berlin runs until 2027,
while he has also been General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich since 2021.

Vladimir Jurowski, one of the most sought-after conductors of our time, who is celebrated worldwide for his innovative musical interpretations and equally for his courageous artistic commitment, was born in Moscow in 1972 and completed the first part of his music studies at the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory. He moved to Germany with his family in 1990 and continued his studies at the music academies in Dresden and Berlin. In 1995, he made his debut at the Wexford Festival in Ireland with Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Mainacht’ and in 1996 at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden with ‘Nabucco’. He was then First Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin (1997-2001).

Vladimir Jurowski worked as Chief Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) for fifteen years until 2021 and has since been appointed Conductor Emeritus. In the UK, he was Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera from 2001 to 2013, leading a wide range of highly acclaimed productions. His close connection to British musical life was recognised by King Charles III in spring 2024 when he appointed Vladimir Jurowski an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). In April 2024, Vladimir Jurowski returned to London as a guest conductor to complete the concert performance cycle of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ with ‘Götterdämmerung’ with the LPO at the Royal Festival Hall.

He was Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra ‘Yevgeny Svetlanov’ of the Russian Federation until 2021 and Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in Great Britain, as well as Artistic Director of the International George Enescu Festival in Bucharest. He has also worked with the unitedberlin ensemble for many years. Vladimir Jurowski has suspended performances in Russia since February 2022. Ukrainian works are and will remain part of his repertoire, as will works by Russian composers.

Vladimir Jurowski has conducted concerts by the most important orchestras in Europe and North America, including the Berlin, Vienna and New York Philharmonics, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig. He is a regular guest at the music festivals in London, Berlin, Dresden, Lucerne, SchleswigHolstein and Grafenegg. Although Vladimir Jurowski is invited as a guest conductor by top orchestras from all over the world, he now concentrates his activities on those geographical areas that he can easily reach with reasonable effort from an ecological point of view.

The joint CD recordings by Vladimir Jurowski and the RSB began in 2015 with Alfred Schnittke’s Symphony No. 3, followed by works by Britten, Hindemith, Strauss, Mahler and again Schnittke. Vladimir Jurowski has been honoured many times for his achievements, including numerous international record awards. In 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Philharmonic Society from the hands of the current King Charles III. In 2020, Vladimir Jurowski’s work as Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival was honoured by the Romanian President with the Order of Cultural Merit.

Natalia Ponomarchuk is one of the most demanded orchestra conductors in Ukraine.

She is the Chief Conductor of Kyiv Chamber Orchestra of National Philharmonic of Ukraine. She was Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Dnipro Academic Symphony Orchestra of Dnipro Philharmonic of Ukraine since 2003 to 2020. Ms. Ponomarchuk has also served as the Conductor of National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (2009-2011).

In addition to these positions, Natalia frequently appears as a guest conductor with National Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra and Lviv Academic Philharmonic Orchestra “INSO- Lviv”. She served as the conductor of National Ensemble of Soloists “Kiev Camerata” in 2007-2009. Natalia has also conducted performances at Ukrainian international music festivals: “Kiev Music Fest”, “First Performances of the Year”, “Kiev Summer Music Evenings”, “Youth Music”, “Contrasts”.

Ms. Ponomarchuk had numerous appearances as an orchestra conductor in all major Ukrainian cities.In addition to her work in Ukraine, Ms. Ponomarchuk has frequently toured, as a guest conductor, throughout Europe, with performances at the following halls: Teatro Real (Madrid, Spain), Auditorio Nacional (Madrid, Spain), Teatro Zarzuela (Madrid, Spain), Palau de la Musica Catalana (Barcelona, Spain), Teatro Colon (Coruna, Spain), Queen Sophia Palace of the Arts (Valencia, Spain), Conference Centre and Concert Hall (Bilbao, Spain), Kursaal (San-Sebastian, Spain), Auditorio de Galicia (Santiago, Spain), Teatro Monumentale (Lisboa, Portugal), Casa da Musica (Porto, Portugal), Sala Verdi Conservatorio (Milan, Italy), Congress Hall (Warsaw, Poland), Thessaloniki Concert Hall (Greece), The Presidential Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall and Choir Buildings, Bilkent Concert Hall (Turkey) etc.

Recently, Ms. Ponomarchuk appeared as a conductor with the following orchestras: Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado do Espirito Santo (Brazil), Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra (Greece), Chongqing Philharmonic Orchestra (Chine), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra etc.

Throughout her career as a conductor, Natalia made numerous audio and video recordings, both in Ukraine and abroad. She served as a conductor at Ukrainian National Radio Company in 1996-1998, with broadcasts on Ukrainian radio and TV. Also, Ms. Ponomarchuk has audio and video recordings on Polish Radio. Natalia appeared in concerts with many internationally renowned soloists, among them: Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Sergei Nakariakov, Vadim Rudenko, Alexander Knyazev, Qian Zhou, Benjamin Schmid, Lukaš Vondraček, Florian Eggner, Laszlo Fenyo, Denis Severin, Otto Sauter, Simonide Braconi, Leticia Moreno, Dominique De Williencourt, Valery Sokolov, Alexey Semenenko, DimaTkachenko, Alexei Grynyuk. Ms.Ponomarchuk is highly regarded by professional musicians. Yevhen Stankovych, one of the foremost contemporary Ukrainian composers, wrote the following words about her: “Although Ms. Ponomarchuk is relatively young, she has already achieved the level of a world-class orchestra conductor. Her conducting style is defined by strong discipline, powerful energy and the ability to deeply understand creative ideas in the music of past and present. That’s why every contemporary Ukrainian composer wants his/her orchestral music to be conducted by Natalia Ponomarchuk.”

“Sparkling Swedish soprano” Johanna Wallroth was thrust into the limelight in 2019 when she took First Prize in the prestigious Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition with her “immediately engaging, intelligent and detailed performance” (Bachtrack).  Wallroth has subsequently joined the Opernstudio of Wiener Staatsoper from the 20/21 season and is the recent recipient of the prestigious 2021 Birgit Nilsson Scholarship.

Originally trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School, Wallroth shifted her principle focus to voice, going on to graduate from Vienna’s Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst (MDW).   She made her operatic debut in 2013, as Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) under Arnold Östman at Ulriksdal  Palace Theatre, Stockholm and subsequently appearing as Eurydice (Orfeo ed Eurydice) at MDW Wien, Despina (Così fan tutte) at Vienna’s Schlosstheater Schönbrunn and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) at Moscow’s Gnesin Academy.  Johanna has since returned to Schlosstheater Schönbrunn as both Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), portrayed the role of Ismene in Telemann’s Orpheus at Vadstena Castle and performed the roles of Sandmännchen and Taumännchen (Hänsel und Gretel) in a new production for Norrlandsoperan, Umeå.

Last season, Johanna Wallroth joined Sakari Oramo at Helsinki Music Centre in Mahler’s Symphony No 4, gave solo recitals with pianists Magnus Svensson in Stockholm’s Konserthuset and Berwaldhallen, and Kristian Attila at the Savonlinna Festival and made her role debut as Zerlina in a live-streamed semi-staged performance of Don Giovanni with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Music Director, Daniel Harding.

In addition to her Wiener Staatsoper commitments in the 20/21 season, which included a livestream performance of Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro under Philippe Jordan, Johanna performed Barber and Stravinsky in concert with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, under Sakari Oramo.  The coming season includes appearances with the Wiener Staatsoper alongside Mahler’s Symphony No 4 on tour with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under Daniel Harding and Mozart’s Requiem with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, under Barbara Hannigan.

Karolina Gumos is engaged as a house soloist at the Komische Oper Berlin. Her parts here include Octavian in Strauss´s “Der Rosenkavalier” and the title role Prince Charmant in „ Cendrillon“ by Massenet,  Idamante in „Idomeneo“, Polina in “Pique Dame”,  Prinz Orlofsky in “The Fledermaus”,  Rosina in “The Barber of Seville” and Dorabella in Mozarts “Cosi fan tutte”.

The mezzosoprano Karolina Gumos was born in Gdynia (Poland). She studied the violin before turning to singing. After successfully completing her Recital Diploma at the Poznan Music College with Professor Wojciech Maciejowski she decided to continue advanced studies as a mezzo-soprano with Professor Anneliese Fried at the Hanns Eisler music college in Berlin.

She performed frequently in oratoros by Bach, Händel, Mozart and Pergolesi. Karolina Gumos attended masterclasses and took part in numerous radio and television broadcasts with ARTE and the ZDF in Germany and Polish Radio 1. She has been invited to festivals such as “Ruhrtriennale” in Duisburg and Bochum, „Händel-Festspiele“ in Karlsruhe, “Vratislavia Cantans” in Wroclaw, Schloss Rheinsberg Chamber Opera Festival and the Lutoslawski Festival.

She has been a prizewinner in the international Ada Sari Singing Competition.

Karolina Gumos was engaged as a house soloist at the Dortmund Opera by the director of opera, Christine Mielitz. Here she was singing such roles as Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Annina (Rosenkavalier), Fenena (Nabucco), Cherubino (Figaro), Olga (Eugen Onegin), Suzuki (Madame Butterfly) and Dorabella (Cosi fan Tutte).

She was also engaged as a house soloist at the State Theater Braunschweig. Here she sang roles such as Nicklausse / La Muse (Contes d´ Hoffmann), Ottavia (L´incorinazione di Poppea), Sextus (La Clemenza di Tito) and the title role in the first performance in Germany of Philippe Boesmans´”Julie”.

She has performed with famous conductors (such as Reinhard Schwarz, Peter Schneider, Peter Gülke, Wladimir Jurowski, Friedermann Layer, Sebastian Weigle, Stefan Soltesz, Michael Boder, Michael Hofstetter, Ion Marin, Pedro Halffter, Alexander Vedernikov, Marcus Bosch, Jörg Peter Weigle, Eugeniusz Kus and Arthur Fagen) and she has also worked with opera producers as Willy Decker, Stefan Herheim, Heiner Goebbels, Hans Neuenfels, Barrie Kosky, Damiano Micheletto, Marco Arturo Marelli, Christine Mielitz, Udo Samel, Beverly Blankenship, Lucas Kindermann, Uwe Schwarz and Sebastian Baumgarten. She has guest contracts with the Teatro de la Maestranza in Sevilla, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Semperoper Dresden, the Hamburg State Opera , the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Opernhaus Frankfurt am Main, the BESETO Opera Seoul,  and has given concerts in Spain, Poland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Latvia, Belgium, Norway and Korea.

British tenor Jeremy Ovenden is considered one of the most sought-after Mozart tenors of his generation and a welcome international guest on the opera and concert stage.

Projects in the past season include Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under Philippe Herreweghe and its Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the Bamberg Philharmonic, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Zaide with the Munich Radio Orchestra under Rinaldo Alessandrini, Mozart’s Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Bernard Labadie, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Bergen and Stavanger, and the title role in Mozart’s Idomeneo at the Teatro Real in Madrid. In Haydn’s Harmoniemesse No. 14 in B-flat major (Hob: XXII), Jeremy Ovenden was featured as soloist at the 2019 Herbstgold Festival in Eisenstadt, conducted by Fabio Biondi. Furthermore, in the 2019/2020 season Jeremy Ovenden performed Handel’s Theodora Concertante at the Vienna Konzerthaus together with Jonathan Cohen and his ensemble Arcangelo, made a guest appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall under the baton of Bernard Labadie as soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C major op. 86. Other concert stops in the 2019/2020 season included a European tour of Haydn’s The Seasons under Paul McCreesh and his Gabrieli Consort, Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Orquesta Nacional de España under David Afkham in Madrid, and the Evangelist part in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Danish Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester.

Other highlights include Britten’s Serenade and its War Requiem with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms under Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Haydn’s The Seasons with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester under Andrew Manze, the Gabrieli Consort under Paul McCreesh (also documented as a recording) and with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Sir Simon Rattle. Jeremy Ovenden’s concert repertoire also includes works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah and The First Walpurgis Night, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, and Hector Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ. Jeremy Ovenden also appeared as soloist under the direction of René Jacobs in George Frideric Handel’s oratorios Saul, Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and La Resurrezione.

Jeremy Ovenden has performed works by Johann Sebastian Bach, including as soloist in his Christmas Oratorio with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, as Evangelist in the St. Matthew Passion with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, as Evangelist in the St. John Passion with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, and as tenor (arias) in the St. Matthew Passion with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Ivor Bolton.
Jeremy Ovenden’s most recent operatic appearances include the title role in Mozart’s Lucio Silla in Brussels, Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) at the Edinburgh Festival and Titus in La clemenza di Tito in Toulouse and Madrid. Other roles in his repertoire include Nerone in Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and the title role in the latter’s l’Orfeo, George Frideric Handel’s Bajazet (Tamerlano), Grimoaldo (Rodelinda) and Jupiter (Semele), and Belfiore in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. As Idomeneo in Mozart’s opera of the same name, Jeremy Ovenden makes guest appearances at leading international houses such as the Theater an der Wien, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.

Jeremy Ovenden’s extensive discography includes works from Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Mark and St. John Passions as well as selections from his cantata oeuvre, George Frideric Handel’s oratorios Saul and L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, and Joseph Haydn’s The Creation and The Seasons. A considerable number of recordings are dedicated to the early operatic works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Il sogno di Scipione, La Betulia liberata, La finta semplice, L’oca del Cairo and Lo sposo deluso). Also entirely dedicated to Mozart is Jeremy Ovenden’s solo album recorded with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Jonathan Cohen, which was released on the Signum Classics label under the title An italian journey.

German bass baritone Markus Marquardt is a member of the ensemble of Semperoper Dresden and a regular guest on international stages, especially in Italian repertoire and German Helden-Fach.

More recent highlights include the role of Adam in the world premiere of Torsten Rasch’s Die andere Frau at Semperoper Dresden, Wotan/Die Walküre in a concert performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski, Nekrotzar in a new production of Calixto Bieto in Le Grand Macabre at Semperoper Dresden, conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, his return to Wiener Staatsoper as Jaroslav Prus/Die Sache Makropulos, Holländer at Volksoper Wien, his house debut at Canadian Opera Company in Toronto as Scarpia, Rigoletto, Nabucco, Amfortas/Parsifal and Jochanaan at Staatsoper Stuttgart, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder at De Nationale Opera Amsterdam and with the Dresden Staatskapelle under Christian Thielmann, Amfortas at Opéra National du Rhin and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi.

Furthermore he has appeared as Don Fernando/Fidelio and Doktor/Wozzeck, both at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Jochanaan/Salome at Vienna State Opera, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and at Cologne Opera, Wotan/Die Walküre and Nabucco, both at Leipzig Opera, Amonasro/Aida and the title role in Hindemith’s Cardillac at Wiener Staatsoper, Holländer, Rigoletto and Wanderer/Siegfried, all at Staatsoper Stuttgart, in the title role in Gianni Schicchi at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Wotan/Die Walküre at Stadttheater Klagenfurt and Count Adorno in Schrecker’s Die Gezeichneten at Opéra de Lyon.

With around 60 concerts annually, numerous CDs and three Grammys, Rundfunkchor Berlin is one of the world’s foremost choruses. Its wide-ranging repertoire, flexible and richly nuanced sound, flawless precision and enthralling delivery have made it the chosen partner of the major orchestras and conductors in its home city but also internationally, where it functions as a musical ambassador for Berlin in the great concert halls of the world. It is so much more than just a concert and studio chorus.

Along with its symphonic choral central repertoire, Rundfunkchor Berlin is constantly forging new paths by means of projects that burst the bounds of the classical concert format and allow choral music to interact with other art forms. The choreographic realization of the Brahms Requiem as “human requiem” by Jochen Sandig with Sasha Waltz & Guests represents a milestone. Following acclaimed performances in Brussels, Taipei and Hong Kong, the work was performed during the 2016-17 season in Berlin, New York and South America. In Christian Jost’s LOVER, a music-theatre piece premiered in 2014 in Berlin’s Kraftwerk, Western symphonic choral music meets a traditional Asian percussion ensemble. In its most recent project, “cosmic lights”, in 2016, Rundfunkchor Berlin presented a multimedia programme based on celestial phenomena including the Northern Lights.

Rundfunkchor Berlin is constantly developing new and unusual ways of experiencing choral music and stimulating choruses all over the world to follow its lead. In formats such as the Sing-Along Concert in the Berlin Philharmonie, the Liederbörse (Song Exchange) for Berlin’s school choirs and the project Hand in Hand, it is working intensively with committed amateur choirs. With its International Master Class for choral conducting and the Academy and Schola for young singers, it is fostering the next generation of professionals. And to help make singing an intrinsic component of the primary school day, it created the initiative SING! in 2011.

Founded in 1925, the chorus celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2015. Since its inception, it has been shaped by conductors like Helmut Koch, Dietrich Knothe (1982-93), Robin Gritton (1994-2001) and Simon Halsey (2001-15). At the beginning of 2015-16 season, Gijs Leenaars assumed the position of Principal Conductor and Artistic Director. Simon Halsey retains his ties to Rundfunkchor Berlin as Conductor Laureate and Guest Conductor. Rundfunkchor Berlin is an ensemble of Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin and is sponsored by Deutschlandradio, the German Federal Republic, the state of Berlin and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg.