Pierre Bleuse to conduct Concertgebouw Orchestra, stepping in for Antonio Pappano
French conductor makes his Concertgebouw Orchestra debut, keeping the programme unchanged
Due to personal reasons, Sir Antonio Pappano is unable to conduct the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 December 2023. The orchestra is happy and grateful that Pierre Bleuse has agreed to step in, leaving the programme unchanged. The concerts mark the French conductor’s first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Het concert opens with Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps, after which baritone Matthias Goerne will join the orchestra for Frank Martin’s Sechs Monologe aus ‘Jedermann’. After the interval, the orchestra will play Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, ‘Organ’, featuring Iveta Apkalna.
Pierre Bleuse
Pierre Bleuse is fast becoming one of the most sought-after conductors. In September 2023, he became Music Director of the Ensemble intercontemporain, succeeding Matthias Pintscher who has held this position since 2013. In addition, he has been serving as chief conductor of the Odense Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the Pablo Casals Festival since 2021.
Pierre Bleuse conducted orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; Russian National Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Belgique. In the 2023/24 season, the French conductor was invited to lead the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orquesta Nacional de España, and the orchestras of Alicante and Valencia in Spain.
Very committed to contemporary music and opera, Bleuse conducted Hèctor Parra’s new opera Orgia at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Pierre Bleuse studied conducting with Jorma Panula in Finland and Laurent Gay at the Haute École de Genève. Originally trained as a violinist, he served as concertmaster and Associate Conductor of the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra (2000-10) and was a member of the Satie Quartet.