Space-encompassing sounds

Michael Francis has quickly established himself as one of the leading international conductors of today. Appointed Music Director of the Florida Orchestra in the fall of 2014, he is now entering his sixth season with a contract extension through the 2024-25 season. His role in building a wide variety of transformative community engagement initiatives has significantly grown the organization. Since 2014 as Music Director of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, California with a contract renewal through the summer of 2023, he continues his ambitious multi-year exploration of Mozart’s life. Now in his second season, Francis continues as Chief Conductor of Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Previously, he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra from 2012-16.

Whoever witnesses Anna Vinnitskaya in concert is inevitably enthralled by the aura of this artist. Audiences and critics alike celebrate her ability to paint grand canvases, aside from sparking spectacular fireworks. Her technical splendor is not a virtuosic means in itself, but blends with a natural, always colorful sound. Anna Vinnitskaya is a major pianist of our time who tells stories with her music.

The first prize at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 2007 marked the beginning of Anna Vinnitskaya’s international career. She is a valued partner of the great orchestras and conductors such as Marek Janowski, Krzysztof Urbański, Kirill Petrenko, Andris Nelsons, Alan Gilbert or Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.

The 2019/2020 season saw her debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Staatskapelle Dresden – with immediate reinvitations to both orchestras. As the „Artist in Residence“ at the Philharmonie Dresden, Vinnitskaya performed in a series of solo, chamber and orchestral concerts. In 2020/2021, BOZAR Brussels will dedicate her an Artist Portrait and stage five concerts with Anna in manifold constellations. Invitations to the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Berlin, Cologne and Stuttgart and to the recital series of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic underline her excellence and outstanding reputation.

Anna Vinnitskaya’s recordings have been recognised with numerous awards, such as the Diapason d’Or, the Gramophone Editor’s Choice and the ECHO Klassik. On her latest albums she presents works by Rachmaninov with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and Krzysztof Urbański and Bach’s piano concertos with Evgeni Koroliov, Ljupka Hadzi Georgieva and the Kammerakademie Potsdam (Alpha Classics/Outhere Music).

Anna Vinnitskaya was born in the Russian city of Novorossijsk. She was a student of Sergei Ossipienko in Rostov and Evgenyi Koroliov at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. Since 2009 she has been a professor there herself – that is, when she is not touring the stages of the wide musical world.