Ruben Gazarian

Thirty years have passed since the Georgian Chamber Orchestra was reestablished in Ingolstadt – reason enough to make this anniversary the focus of the 2020 season.
 
As a result of the successful integration of the GKO in Ingolstadt, the ensemble sees itself as an ambassador for the dialogue between people and cultures. The “Artist in Residence” and at the same time “Composer in Residence” 2020, Fazil Say, is particularly representative of this profile. The prominent pianist and composer sees himself as a mediator. With his music, Say wants to build bridges, not least between Orient and Occident, but above all East and West, both as a performer on the piano and as a composer. At the GCO this year, “the whole Fazil Say” will be presented, the instrumentalist and the composer – together with an exhibition of his works, which at the same time reflects connections with the musical heritage. And of course, in 2020, the focus will also be on the jubilarian Ludwig von Beethoven. Since Beethoven would be inconceivable without Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, they deliberately form a special focus in the season’s program.
 
Here only some the highlights of the GCO subscription series: the prelude with the Soprano Sarah Gilford under the direction of Ruben Gazarian (January 16th) connects works of Joseph Haydn and Fazil Say. In the 6th and 7th subscription concerts, Fazil Say will perform Beethoven’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor (June 18th) as well as Mozart’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 12 in A major, K. 414. In addition, the pianist and composer will perform his own work, “Silk Road” (September 22nd). The pianist Sebastian Knauer – “Artist in Residence” of the GCO 2018 – devotes himself to piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven in the 5th subscription concert (May 14th). The 8th subscription concert offers a showcase of works by pianist and composer Jenö Takács, who is considered the “Arab Bartók” (Oct. 15). Soloists of the concert are Nina Karmon (violin) and an old acquaintance of the orchestra and its chief conductor, Oliver Triendl (piano). This evening will again be recorded by Deutschlandradio and broadcast a few days later. Ruben Gazarian is particularly proud of this intensive collaboration with Deutschlandfunk Kultur, which now takes place every year. The GCO’s last subscription concert in 2020 with pianist Varduhi Yeritsyan (December 3rd) will once again focus on Mozart.
 
Other soloists in the 2020 season include violinists Sebastian Bohren (February 13th) and Linus Roth (April 23rd), pianist Eriko Takezawa and trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich (November 19th).
In 2020, for the first time, two open-air concerts will set special accents as part of the subscription: The “Sunset Orchestra Night” (20.06.), which took place for the first time as a special concert in the summer of 2017, will be a permanent part of the subscription from this year on. Between cocktails and deck chairs, the ensemble under the direction of Ruben Gazarian makes a guest appearance at the Danube Stage Ingolstadt. Together with the outstanding accordionist Aydar Gaynullin and his band, musical highlights of film history will be brought to life. Also in the second open air concert (July 23rd) the GCO shows no fear of contact beyond the classical music. Together with clarinettist Michel Lethiec, the GCO interprets works by Nino Rota, Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin in the Turm Baur at sunset. The highlights of the season undoubtedly include not only the renewed appearance of GCO under the direction of principal conductor Ruben Gazarian at the Elbphilharmonie, but also the New Year’s Concert (January 2nd) together with the clarinet duo Gurfinkel, as well as the annual Audi Summer Concert on July 1st.