The Artists

is Music Director of the Teatro Real in Madrid and of the Basel Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Dresden Festival Orchestra. From 2004 to 2016 he was chief conductor of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, with whom he has appeared annually at the Salzburg Festival since 2000. In the UK, Ivor Bolton has been Music Director of English Touring Opera, Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Chief Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He enjoys a close relationship with the Bayerische Staatsoper where, since 1994, he has conducted a wide range of new productions, most notably of Monteverdi, Handel and Mozart. He has been awarded the prestigious Bayerische Theaterpreis for his outstanding work in Munich. Ivor Bolton was a frequent guest at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and at the Opéra national de Paris. Other operatic engagements include Covent Garden, Paris, Aix, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Dresden, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, Madrid, Sydney, Vienna and Zurich. In concert he has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras in Europe, the US and the Far East. His many recordings, apart from those with the Mozarteumorchester, include Monteverdi’s »Poppea« and Handel’s »Xerxes«, »Giulio Cesare« and »Ariodante« with the Bayerische Staatsoper, and DVDs of »Deidamia« from Amsterdam, »Theodora« from Salzburg and »Jenufa« from Madrid.

Every year, some of the best musicians for historically informed performance practice from the finest early-music ensembles in Europe unite to the Dresden Festival Orchestra as the Dresden Music Festival's very own ensemble. With great joy of discovery, precision and a keen sense for authentic interpretations, the Dresden Festival Orchestra has explored the original sound of various epochs since its inception in 2012 and in doing so fills a void in the musical life of the city. The musicians play original instruments, varying with the era and historical background of its repertoire, which means that the strings use gut strings and the winds offer a completely new sound. The artists, all virtuosos and specialists on their instruments, are giftet with variety of styles and playing techniques, wich they bring to Dresden from orchestras such as the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestera of the18th Century, the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, the Concentus Musicus Wien, Il Giardino Armonico or Le Cercle de l'Harmonie. Already at its celebrated premiere during the 2012 Music Festival the ensemble thrilled both audiences and critics. During the 2014 Festival season, the orchestra paid homage to Richard Strauss in his anniversary year, offering a brilliant rediscovery of his opera »Feuersnot« (a coproduction with the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden), that was nominated for the 2015 »International Opera Award«. In October 2016 the first recording was released with Schumann’s second symphony and his cello concerto featuring Jan Vogler as solist. Renowned soloists that performed with the orchestra inculde Simone Kermes, Giuliano Carmignola, Isabelle Faust, Bejun Mehta, Waltraud Meier, Thomas Zehetmair and Valer Sabadus. Since 2012 Ivor Bolton has been chief conductor of the Dresden Festival Orchestra.

The Dresden Kreuzchor is one of the world’s oldest and most famous boys’ choirs. Its history dates back to the first mention of the city of Dresden in the early 13th century. More than 800 years later, its most important task is still the musical accompaniment of the vespers and services at Dresden’s Kreuzkirche. Here, the Dresden Kreuzchor performs in Vespers and services and regularly gives concerts with outstanding works of sacred music. They form the core of the repertoire and are an expression of the Christian-humanistic character of the choir. Alongside famous soloists, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Dresden are major artistic partners. The Dresden Kreuzchor also collaborates with ensembles of early music such as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Academy for Early Music of Berlin. The repertoire of the Dresden Kreuzchor ranges from Renaissance music to premieres of contemporary works. His extensive artistic work has been documented in numerous recordings. Several times a year, the Dresden Kreuzchor goes on national and international concert tours, beyond German and European borders to Israel, Canada, Japan, South America and the USA. Moreover, it performs at international music festivals and realizes countless radio and television recordings. It represents the Saxon state capital as its oldest cultural institution on almost all continents and has recently debuted at the Shanghai International Arts Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festivals. The choir singers are also regularly invited to opera roles as soloists. The Kreuzchor singers, called »Crucians«, still graduate at the Kreuzschule; about two third of them live in the adjacent boarding school. Next to their normal classes, the 130 singers – aged nine to eighteen – have weekly singing and instrumental lessons. Their daily rehearsals and the specific sound of the choir are the basis of the success and the fame of the Dresden Kreuzchor.

The Dresden Philharmonic can look back on 150 years of history as the orchestra of Saxony’s capital Dresden. When the so-called »Gewerbehaussaal« opened on 29 November 1870, the citizens of the city were given the opportunity to organise major orchestra concerts. Philharmonic concerts were held regularly starting in 1885; the orchestra adopted its present name in 1923. In its first decades, composers such as Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Strauss conducted the Dresdner Philharmonie with their own works. The first desks were presided over by outstanding concertmasters such as Stefan Frenkel, Simon Goldberg and the cellists Stefan Auber and Enrico Mainardi. From 1934, Carl Schuricht and Paul van Kempen led the orchestra; van Kempen in particular guided the Dresden Philharmonic to top achievements. All of Bruckner’s symphonies were first performed in their original versions, which earned the orchestra the reputation of a »Bruckner orchestra« and brought renowned guest conductors such as Hermann Abendroth, Eduard van Beinum, Fritz Busch, Eugen Jochum, Joseph Keilbert, Erich Kleiber, Hans Knappertsbusch and Franz Konwitschny to the rostrum. After 1945 and into the 1990s, Heinz Bongartz, Horst Förster, Kurt Masur (from 1994 also honorary conductor), Günther Herbig, Herbert Kegel, Jörg-Peter Weigle and Michel Plasson were the principal conductors. In recent years, conductors such as Marek Janowski, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Michael Sanderling have shaped the orchestra. Starting in the 2019-20 season, Marek Janowski will rejoin the Dresden Philharmonic as principal conductor and artistic director. Its home is the highly modern concert hall inaugurated in April 2017 in the Kulturpalast building in the heart of the historic old town. In romantic repertoire, the orchestra has preserved its very own »Dresden sound«. Furthermore, it is characterised by a flexibility in sound and style for the music of the Baroque and First Viennese School, as well as for modern works. World premieres continue to the present to play an important part in the orchestra’s programmes. Guest performances in major concert halls around the world demonstrate the high esteem enjoyed by the Dresden Philharmonic in the world of classical music. High-calibre education and family formats round out the offering for young people; the youngest concertgoers are brought into contact with classical music by attending rehearsals and school concerts. The orchestra supports young musical talent in the Kurt Masur Academy. The Philharmonic’s discography, which has been growing since 1937, also testifies to their broad spectrum. A new climax was reached with the CD cycle conducted by Michael Sanderling dedicated to the complete symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich and Ludwig van Beethoven (Sony Classical).

Founded by Prince Elector Moritz von Sachsen in 1548, the Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the oldest orchestras in the world and thus steeped in tradition. Over its long history many distinguished conductors and internationally celebrated instrumentalists have left their mark on this one-time court orchestra. Previous directors include Heinrich Schütz, Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner. The list of prominent conductors of the last 100 years includes Ernst von Schuch, Fritz Reiner, Fritz Busch, Karl Böhm, Joseph Keilberth, Rudolf Kempe, Otmar Suitner, Kurt Sanderling, Herbert Blomstedt and Giuseppe Sinopoli. The orchestra was directed by Bernard Haitink from 2002-2004 and most recently by Fabio Luisi from 2007-2010. Principal Conductor since the 2012/2013 season has been Christian Thielemann. In 2016 the former Principal Conductor Herbert Blomstedt received the title Conductor Laureate. The only person to previously hold this title was Sir Colin Davis, from 1990 until his death in 2013. Myung-Whun Chung has been Principal Guest Conductor since the 2012/2013 season.
Richard Strauss and the Staatskapelle were closely linked for more than sixty years. Nine of the composer’s operas were premiered in Dresden, including »Salome«, »Elektra« and »Der Rosenkavalier«, while Strauss’s »Alpine Symphony« was dedicated to the orchestra. Countless other famous composers have written works either dedicated to the orchestra or first performed in Dresden. In 2007 the Staatskapelle reaffirmed this tradition by introducing the annual position of »Capell-Compositeur«. Following on from Hans Werner Henze, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, György Kurtág, Arvo Pärt and Peter Eötvös, the German composer Aribert Reimann holds this title for the 2019/2020 season. As »Capell-Virtuos« the cellist Sol Gabetta takes part in various concerts.
The Staatskapelle’s home is the Semperoper, where it performs around 250 operas and ballets each season. In addition, the ensemble presents another 50 symphonic and chamber concerts at the opera house, as well as playing at various musical events at Dresden’s Frauenkirche. As one of the world’s most celebrated and popular symphony orchestras, the Staatskapelle regularly travels abroad to the world’s leading classical venues. Since 2013 it has been the resident orchestra of the Salzburg Easter Festival, whose Artistic Director is Christian Thielemann.
As patron orchestra of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, the Staatskapelle supports the nurturing of young talent. Also active at the local level, it is a partner of Meetingpoint Music Messiaen in the double city of Görlitz-Zgorzelec and, in 2010, helped found the International Shostakovich Festival in Gohrisch, which is the first annual event dedicated to the music and life of Dmitri Shostakovich.
At a ceremony in Brussels in 2007 the Staatskapelle became the first – and so far only – orchestra to be awarded the »European Prize for the Preservation of the World’s Musical Heritage«.

Jan Vogler’s distinguished career has brought him together with renowned conductors and internationally acclaimed orchestras around the world, such as New York Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and London Philharmonic Orchestra. His great ability allowed him to explore the sound boundaries of the cello and to establish an intensive dialogue with contemporary composers and artists. This includes regular world premieres, including works by Tigran Mansurian (with WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Semyon Bychkov), John Harbison (with Mira Wang and the Boston Symphony Orchestra), Udo Zimmermann (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra), Wolfgang Rihm (Double Concerto with Mira Wang), Jörg Widman (Cello Concerto »Dunkle Saiten«, dedicated to Jan Vogler himself) and Nico Muhly/USA, Sven Helbig/D and Zhou Long/CHN (»Drei Kontinente – Konzert für Cello und Orchester«, composed for Jan Vogler). In June 2020 a recording with the cello concerto by Muhly, Helbig and Long with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Cristian Măcelaru and Shostakovich’s 2nd Cello Concerto with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev was released by Sony Classical.

Highlights of Jan Vogler’s career as a soloist are concerts with the New York Philharmonic – both in New York and Dresden at the occasion of the reopening of the rebuilt Dresdner Frauenkirche under the direction of Lorin Maazel in 2005 –, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh and Montréal Symphony Orchestras, Mariinsky Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia – Roma, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic as well as with The Knights. He collaborates with conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Fabio Luisi, Sir Antonio Pappano, Valery Gergiev, Thomas Hengelbrock, Manfred Honeck and Kent Nagano.

Jan Vogler has been Director of the renowned Dresden Music Festival since October 2008 as well as Artistic Director of the Moritzburg Festival since 2001. In 2017 the Moritzburg Festival celebrated its 25th anniversary as one of the most established chamber music festivals internationally.