Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini announces first season with Principal Conductor Alpesh Chauhan.
The Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini has announced its first full season under new Principal Conductor Alpesh Chauhan. Throughout 2017/18, Birmingham-born Alpesh and the orchestra will perform some of the great symphonic works, welcome world-class soloists and continue to celebrate the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini’s role as one of Italy’s leading symphony orchestras.
Alpesh, whose career we have followed since becoming the CBSO’s first Conducting Fellow in 2013, made his debut with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in March 2015, when he stepped in at late notice to conduct two concerts. He was announced as Principal Conductor Designate in September 2016.
The coming season builds upon the three programmes that Alpesh has undertaken with the orchestra in this current season, including Sibelius’s first symphony, a Stravinsky-Mozart programme and Bruckner’s ninth. Speaking about the season, Alpesh commented: “I am so very pleased and excited to announce our first full season – both for my programmes and the programmes of the visiting guests (who this season include the renowned pianist Krystian Zimerman and Ton Koopman).
“The season is formed around the theme of piano concertos and I am pleased to be working with the incredible Stephen Hough on Brahms’ First and with Enrico Pace on Rachmaninov’s Third. I particularly look forward to deepening and strengthening our relationship and growing the orchestra’s repertoire while also having the chance to learn very much from such an orchestra with the repertoire where they already feel at home. Further highlights for me include Mahler’s First, Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Shostakovich’s Tenth and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht.”
Alpesh joined the Royal Northern College of Music in 2008 to study the cello with Eduardo Vassallo before pursuing the prestigious Master’s Conducting Course. In 2013, he was announced as the CBSO’s first Conducting Fellow, and was later appointed Assistant Conductor of the orchestra. Now just 27 years old, Alpesh is quickly rising to international prominence.
Ahead of his new position in Parma, he will conduct the CBSO’s Benevolent Fund concert with Nicola Benedetti and two performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Other recent performance highlights include concerts with Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Opéra National Lorraine, Ulster Orchestra, Teatro Carlo Felice Genoa, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, his US debut with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and his opera debut at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.
Alpesh has also conducted numerous BBC Radio 3 live broadcasts and the BBC Philharmonic in the BAFTA-winning Ten Pieces Secondary film, before taking the project to the BBC Proms.
