Orchestra & Conductor
Marc Soustrot
Marc Soustrot, musical director of the city of Bonn, was born in Lyon in 1948. He obtained his diplomas in piano, trombone, composition, chamber music and orchestral direction from the "Lyon Conservatoire" and the "Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris". After sweeping first-prize in international conducting competitions in London and Besançon, he was from 1976 to 1994 conductor of the "Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de la Loire", and is musical director of the operas of Nantes and Angers. He has also guest conducted widely in Europe (Norway, Italy, Spain, Great Britain), the United States, Japan, Australia, and South Africa, with the philharmonic orchestras of Oslo, Tokyo, Tel-Aviv, Bamberg and Rotterdam. Marc Soustrot has had occasion to direct a great many musicians and singers of renown, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Régine Crespin, José Van Dam, Maurice André, Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Bowman, Ruggiero Raimondi, Katia Ricciarelli, Leontine Price, Bruno Gelber, Christa Ludwig, Birgit Fassbender, Nicolaï Gedda and Janet Baker. From 1996, Marc Soustrot has also been confided with the direction of the "Brabant Orkest" in Eindhoven (Netherlands), with which he will be tourning in The United States of America in 2001 and the "Beethovenhalle" in Bonn, with which he will be tourning in Japan in the same season.
Belgian National Orchestra
The Belgian National Orchestra, founded in 1931 under the name of the Brussels Symphonic Orchestra, received its current appellation in 1936. From the start it worked notably with artists of renown, including Erich Kleiber, Hans Knappertsbush, Karl Böhm and Pierre Monteux. In 1958 André Cluytens became the Orchestra's permanent director. Under his baton, the BNO forged an international reputation and began a rich tradition of touring abroad. Michael Gielen succeeded to the post in 1969, and he worked to expand the Orchestra's repertoire, particularly in the contemporary domain. Following him, André Vandernoot, Georges Octors, Mendi Rodan and Ronald Zollman have successively presided over its musical destiny. Since 1994, it is the Russian conductor Yuri Simonov who directs the BNO. Under his lead, the repertory has gained more Slavic music- with its splendid Romantic tradition- and, in particular, a predilection for the works of Shostakovich. The collaboration of "Crédit Communal" of Belgium has, for that matter, permitted the BNO to impart their own stamp on this Slavic idyll in their recording of the composer's Fourth Symphony. Under Maestro Simonov the musicians of the National Orchestra are once again engaged in concert tours abroad, reviving a tradition that had for a time gone wanting. Indeed, since 1994 the Orchestra has again welcomly received the plaudits of audiences throughout Europe. A recent highpoint in the Orchestra's touring program was the 1998 invitation to Oveido and Madrid, where its play was warmly appreciated alongside other ensembles such as the orchestra of La Scala, Milan, and the Vienna Symphony. Always seeking to expand its repertoire, the Orchestra has combined with the Ghent International Film Festival in having renowned composers of film music conduct their own works. Its is in this same spirit, that the Orchestra will again collaborate with Festival Ars Musica in the year 2000.