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The RSB Christmas Concert

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.

Alice Lackner’s voice has been described by the press as “beguilingly secure, with astral heights and penetrating power” (Oper!) and as “utterly enchanting” (Tagesspiegel). She regularly appears with orchestras such as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Essener Philharmoniker, Russian State Orchestra Kaliningrad, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester, lautten compagney Berlin, Ensemble 1700 and Concerto Theresia, under the direction of renowned conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski, Wolfgang Katschner, Dorothee Oberlinger, Tomáš Netopil, Andrea Marchiol and Andreas Reize.
Highlights of recent seasons have included the soprano solo in Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 at the Konzerthaus Berlin, “Martha” in the world premiere of Gordon Kampe’s “Dogville” at the Aalto Theater Essen, “Ruggiero” in Handel’s “Alcina” in a production by lautten compagney Berlin, and “Negiorea” in Andrea Bernasconi’s “L’Huomo” at the Margravial Opera House Bayreuth and at the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival. Other engagements have taken her to the Berlin Philharmony, the Berlin Music Festival, the George Enescu Festival in Bucharest, the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, the Days of Early Music in Herne and the Mosel Music Festival.
Alice Lackner’s core concert repertoire includes the alto roles in cantatas and oratorios by J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart and Mendelssohn. However, the mezzo-soprano’s repertoire also includes less frequently performed works such as the masses for the dead by Duruflé or Suppè, the “Membra Jesu Nostri” (Buxtehude) and “Der Sieg des Glaubens” (Ries). Recently, she has also appeared in concert as a soprano, for example in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, in Mozart’s “Great Mass in C minor”, in Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solenelle” and in Stravinsky’s “Les Noces”.
A major focus of her work is lieder singing. In 2021, Alice Lackner released her debut CD “Ernsthaft?!” with the GENUIN label, together with her lied accompanist Imke Lichtwark. In addition to songs by Schönberg and Zemlinsky, this CD also includes first recordings of songs by the composer Sven Daigger. In October 2023, Alice Lackner recorded a first edition of all songs by George Antheil for Deutschlandfunk together with pianist Philip Mayers. Further recordings for cpo, BR-Klassik and ARTE Concert testify to her artistic work.
Alice Lackner was born in Munich, studied singing with Prof. Kunz-Eisenlohr at the HfMT Cologne/Aachen and is currently receiving further training from Sami Kustaloglu in Berlin. She holds a scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation and has won prizes from “cantatebach!”, the Rheinsberg Castle Chamber Opera, and the “Podium junger Gesangssolisten”. With a degree in sociology, she works as a researcher at ZOiS Berlin. From 2025 onwards, she will take over the artistic direction of the “Güldener Herbst” festival in Thuringia.

Acclaimed in the press for his “radiant power and emotion” (The Telegraph) and “sheer seductive beauty” (Gramophone Magazine), Canadian countertenor Michael Taylor began singing as a treble at St. Michael’s Choir School in Toronto, where he also studied the violin and piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music. After graduating with a degree in Physics and Neuroscience from McGill University, he took up further vocal studies in Montreal with a focus on Early Music. Michael subsequently came to Germany to pursue a specialisation in opera performance with Prof. KS Jeanne Piland as well as with several of Europe’s most talented Early Music specialists, including Andreas Scholl, Sara Mingardo and Michael Hofstetter. He is a prize-winner of the International Voice Competition Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in Germany and the Gürel International Singing Competition in Istanbul, as well as a grant-holder of the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers.

Michael made his debut at the Lincoln Center in New York as a soloist in Handel’s MESSIAH, in London’s Cadogan Hall in the title role of Hasse’s DEMETRIO with Opera Settecento, and in Izumi Hall Osaka as a soloist in Bach’s ST. MATTHEW PASSION; he has performed on opera stages around the world with renowned companies such as the Hamburg State Opera, Opera Atelier Toronto, Lucerne Opera, Mainz State Opera, Halle Opera and the Venice Biennale. Highlights of his wide-ranging operatic repertoire include Goffredo (RINALDO), Tolomeo (GIULIO CESARE), Corindo (L’ORONTEA), Pisandro (IL RITORNO D’ULISSE IN PATRIA), Orfeo (ORFE ED EURIDICE), Artemis (PHAEDRA), L’Ospite (LUCI MIE TRADITRICI), Prince Go-Go (LE GRAND MACABRE) and Oberon (A MIDSUMMERNIGHT’S DREAM). Michael’s most recent album “Cantates pour Luther” featuring Bach’s Reformation Cantatas, is now available on the ATMA Classique Label worldwide.

The german tenor, Stephan Gähler, began his musical education in 1985 as a  member of the Dresdner Kapellknaben at the local catholic cathedral in Dresden. Although he studied transport science and geography, he never abandoned his passion for singing. From 2003, he graduated from private singing studies with Professor Margret Trappe-Wiel in Dresden.

As a soloist, Stephan Gähler is mainly engaged in early music, his repertoire includes the concerto literature of the Renaissance through the Baroque to early Classical period. The cantatas, the Weihnachts-Oratorium (BWV248) as well as the part of the Evangelists in the great Passions of J.S.Bach and George Frideric Handel’s Messiah should be mentioned here in the first place.

Mr. Gähler has always felt particularly drawn to singing in singly occupied solo ensembles with the focus on literature of the 16th to 18th centuries with music such as Lassus, Schütz, Schein, Buxtehude or Monteverdi. This includes especially the cooperation with the Cappella Sagittariana Dresden, Ensemble Amarcord Leipzig, Cappella Augustana Bologna, Ensemble Sette Voci of the renowned dutch Bass Peter Kooij or in the versatile acting Athesinus Consort Berlin wich dedicates its work to many styles of classical music.

Christian Oldenburg studied opera singing and dancing, and worked with Renate Faltin, Scot Weir, Julia Varady, and Wolfram Rieger at the Hanns Eisler University Berlin. He attended master classes given by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Neil Semer, Elio Battaglia, Lucio Gallo, Snezana Brzakovic, Peter Konwitschny, and Willy Decker.

His operatic repertoire comprises roles such as Hans Scholl in Udo Zimmermann’s „Die Weisse Rose“, Papageno in „Die Zauberflöte“ , Albert in „Massenet’s Werther” , Eduard in Hindemith’s „Neues vom Tage“ , and Falke in „Die Fledermaus“ (Theater Lüneburg), Donner in „Der Ring an einem Abend“ production directed by Philippe Arlaud for Bayreuth, Gilberto in Donizetti´s „Enrico di Borgogna“ (Vadstena Summer Opera Festival, Sweden), the title part in Ristori’s Calandro at the Music Festival Potsdam/Sanssouci within the Young Baroque Opera Project under the baton of Olof Bomann, his debut as Don Giovanni at the Wernigeröder Schlossfestspiele, Germany, Haushofmeister in Strauss’ „Capriccio“ (Opéra de Lyon), Boris in „Moskau Tscherjomuschki“, „Hans im Glück“ , Kilian in „Der Freischütz“ , Mittlerer Bruder/König in „Der gestiefelte Kater“ , and Un servo in „Luci mie traditrici“ (all at Staatsoper Berlin).

He has collaborated with orchestras such as Staatsorchester Braunschweig, Staatsorchester Frankfurt/Oder, Staatskapelle Berlin, Dresdner Philharmonie, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and Hamburger Symphoniker.

Recent engagements include Spinelloccio/Amatio di Nicolao in „Gianni Schicchi“ for Szczecin Opera, Finocchio in the world premiere of Sciarrino’s „Ti vedo, ti sento, mi perdo“ with Teatro alla Scala and Staatsoper Berlin, „Carmina Burana“ with Collegium Musicum Symphony Orchestra, Haushofmeister in Strauss’ „Capriccio“ for La Monnaie Brussels, and the title part in „Hans im Glück“ at Staatsoper Berlin.

Current season comprises Wächter der Stadt in „Die Frau ohne Schatten“ with  the RSB, Josef K. in Glass’ „The Trial“, Mercutio in „Roméo et Juliette“ , and Spinelloccio in „Gianni Schicchi“ for Szczecin Opera among others.

Vocalconsort Berlin is one of the most highly regarded and versatile choirs in Germany. In 2013 it was awarded the ECHO Klassik. Founded in 2003 and thus the youngest of Berlin’s three professional choirs, Vocalconsort has no principal conductor, working instead on a project-by-project basis with various conductors, and above all with long-term artistic partners such as Daniel Reuss, Folkert Uhde and Sasha Waltz. Along with the Compagnie Sasha Waltz & Guests and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, it is one of the three “residence ensembles” at Radialsystem V, Berlin’s innovative concert venue.
Vocalconsort Berlin is versatile in both instrumentation and repertoire, but always stylistically confident and of impressive homogeneity. It has enjoyed success in a wide variety of fields: from Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” under René Jacobs at the Innsbruck Festival, Haydn’s “Four Seasons” under Christopher Moulds in Rotterdam, Bernstein’s “A Quiet Place” under Kent Nagano and through to Peter Ruzicka’s “Inseln, Randlos” under the direction of the composer himself. Vocalconsort Berlin supported the opera choir on stage in Barrie Kosky’s production in Schönberg’s “Moses und Aron” under Vladimir Jurowski. The choir has also played an important role in many successful scenic productions by Sasha Waltz & Guests, such as “Dido & Aenes” by Purcell, “L’Orfeo” by Monteverdi, “Medea” by Dusapin and “Matsukaze” by Hosokawa.
CD recordings include Handel’s “Ode for Queen Anne” and “Dixit Dominus” with Andreas Scholl and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Handel’s “Athalia” with Nuria Real and the Kammerorchester Basel as well as Bach’s motets under Marcus Creed. Vocalconsort Berlin received the ECHO Klassik in 2013 for its recording of Gesualdo’s second book “Sacrae Cantiones” under James Wood.
In its own projects Vocalconsort Berlin likes to transcend the boundaries of classical genres and disciplines: “Allegory of Desire” was created in collaboration with the Belgian ensemble Zefiro Torna and the Tunisian singer Ghalia Benali; “From Inside” combined works by Gesualdo and Giacinto Scelsi in a concert staged by Hans-Werner Kroesinger; “Libera Me” combines music by Lobo, Desprez and Gesualdo with contemporary dance.
In recent years the collaboration with the Konzerthausorchester under the direction of Iván Fischer has intensified, for example with performances of the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor by Bach or the Requiem by W.A. Mozart.
In the 2017/18 season, Vocalconsort Berlin made its debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle in a semi-staged production of Janacek’s “Schlauen Füchslein” (Cunning Little Vixen), which was directed by Peter Sellars.
Also the collaboration with the Komische Oper Berlin under the direction of Barrie Kosky has intensified within the last years. Vocalconsort Berlin was involved in productions such as Bernstein’s “Westside Story”, Mozart’s “Zauberflöte” or “L’enfant et les sortilèges” by Ravel. On occasion of the 2019 Salzburg Festival Vocalconsort Berlin participated in “Orphée aux Enfers” by Offenbach, a highly acclaimed production of Barrie Kosky with the Vienna Philharmonic under Enrique Mazzola.
Vocalconsort Berlin maintains a regular presence in the music metropolises and at the major festivals in Europe, from Amsterdam to Barcelona, from London to Vienna, from Paris to Salzburg. It has worked with conductors such as Marcus Creed, Jos van Immerseel, Ottavio Dantone, Christoph Rousset, Pablo Heras-Casado and Peter Ruzicka.