John Storgårds & Vivi Vassileva

Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and Principal Guest Conductor of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, John Storgårds has a dual career as a conductor and violin virtuoso and is widely recognised for his creative flair for programming as well as his rousing yet refined performances. As Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, a title he has held for nearly 25 years, Storgårds earned global critical acclaim for the ensemble’s adventurous performances and award-winning recordings.

Storgårds appears with such orchestras as WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra as well as all major Nordic orchestras including Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra where he was Chief Conductor from 2008 to 2015. Further afield, he appears with the Sydney, Melbourne and NHK Symphony Orchestras as well as The Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Soloists with whom he collaborates include Yefim Bronfman, Sol Gabetta, Kirill Gerstein, Håkan Hardenberger, Kari Kriikku, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Christian Tetzlaff, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Frank Peter Zimmermann as well as Soile Isokoski and Anne Sofie von Otter.

Storgårds’ vast repertoire includes all symphonies by Sibelius, Nielsen, Bruckner, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann, including the Finnish premieres of Schumann’s only opera ‘Genoveva’ and the early ‘Zwickau’ symphony, plus world premieres of Sibelius’ Suite op. 117 for violin and strings and the Late Fragments. As soloist, he gave the Finnish premiere of Schumann’s own violin transcription of the cello concerto, as well as the Violin Sonata No 3. Embracing contemporary repertoire in his programmes, Storgårds regularly performs world premieres with many works being dedicated to him including Per Nørgård’s Symphony No. 8 as well as Kaija Saariaho’s ‘Nocturne’ for solo violin. In opera he conducted the world premiere production of Sebastian Fagerlund’s ‘Höstsonaten – Autumn Sonata’ at the Finnish National Opera directed by Stéphane Braunschweig. The title was a finalist at the 2018 International Opera Awards and will be revived in autumn 2019.

Highlights of his 2019/20 season include Storgårds’ return to the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic with whom he will embark on a major European tour this autumn. Following debut appearances last season with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden as well as his subscription debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Storgårds returns to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, Oslo Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin as well as Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien at the Konzerthaus in Vienna as well as on tour to Asia.

Storgårds’ award winning discography includes recordings of works by Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn but also rarities by Holmboe and Vasks featuring him as soloist. Two cycles of symphonies by Sibelius (2014) and Nielsen (2015) with the BBC Philharmonic were released to critical acclaim by Chandos. Their latest recording project includes works by the American avant-garde composer George Antheil. For BIS Records, John Storgårds and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra have released a critically acclaimed recording of Mahler’s 10th symphony in a special arrangement by Michelle Castelletti. Other successes include discs of works by Nørgård, Korngold, Aho and Rautavaara, the latter receiving a Grammy nomination and a Gramophone Award in 2012.

Storgårds studied violin with Chaim Taub and subsequently became concert master of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen, before studying conducting with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. He received the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2002 and the Pro Finlandia Prize 2012.

Described as „an artist who thrills her audience, exploring and shifting the limits of the percussive world”, Vivi Vassileva is being celebrated not only for her technical perfection, but her astonishing virtuosity, combining agility and power in her performance, leading a new generation of percussionists in their pursuit to showcase percussion as the instrument of the 21st century.

The 2024/25 season holds numerous highlights for Vivi Vassileva, amongst them the premiere of a new percussion concerto by Sauli Zinovjev with Beethoven Orchestra Bonn. Her highly successful debut with Luxembourg Philharmonic last season results in a European tour to include Vienna, amongst others, this season. Vassileva will be recording two highly renowned percussion concertos – Daníel Bjarnasson’s Inferno with Iceland Philharmonic and Gregor A. Mayrhofer’s Recycling Concerto with SWR Symphony Orchestra. Once again, she takes the lead in Wiener Konzerthaus’ The Percussive Planet series – a commitment that started last season. Chamber Music projects take her to Tonhalle Zurich, Brucknerhaus Linz and Wiener Konzerthaus amongst others. Vivi Vassileva will furthermore return to important festivals such as Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Beethovenfest Bonn.

Last season’s highlights include her debuts with Frankfurt Radio Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, her return to Gürzenich Orchestra and her last time appearing as “Junge Wilde” at Konzerthaus Dortmund, a commitment that started in 2021. Vassileva is passionate about commissioning new works to expand the percussion repertoire, including works by Bushra El-Turk, Christian Jost, Avner Dorman and Gregor Mayrhofer. Her concerto repertoire includes works by Kalevi Aho, Oriol Cruixent, Tan Dun, John Corigliano, Avner Dorman, Friedrich Cerha, Daníel Bjarnasson and Keiko Abe. Admired for her innovative programming style, Vassileva offers new, accessible ways for audiences to become acquainted with her instruments and her craft, as she introduces projects with percussion instruments made from recycled materials. She makes regular performances alongside recital partners including Frank Dupree and guitarist Lucas Campara Diniz as well as her own percussion ensemble, Extasi Ensemble, at venues such as Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Dortmund and Snape Maltings, along with festivals such as Salzburg Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

In 2019 Vassileva signed an exclusive recording contract with Outhere Music France for their Alpha Classics label. Her debut album release Singin’ Rhythm features works by Guillo Espel, Eric Sammut, Oriol Cruixent and Keiko Abe, most of them premiere recordings, alongside some rarely heard or premiere arrangements and compositions by Vassileva herself.

Vassileva began her formal training at the age of ten with Claudio Estay and later entered the National Youth Orchestra of Germany as youngest member. More success was immediate with prizes at international competitions and two special prizes as the youngest semi-finalist at the prestigious ARD Music Competition in 2014. She received the Kulturkreis Gasteig Musikpreis 2016 for her own composition and arrangement of the Bulgarian Folk Song Kalino Mome. In 2017 she was awarded the Bayerische Kunstförderpreis and in 2023 the Leonard-Bernstein Award. Vivi Vassileva is a graduate of Mozarteum University Salzburg where she studied under Martin Grubinger.