Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser Marek Janowski

Marek Janowski - Conductor
Marek Janowski has been Artistic Director of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin since 2002 and in 2005 he was also appointed Musical Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva. He is in demand as a guest conductor throughout the world, working on a regular basis in the USA with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (where he holds the Otto Klemperer Guest Conducting Chair), the Boston and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and in Europe with the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchester der Tonhalle Zürich, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen and the NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg.
Born in 1939 in Warsaw and educated in Germany, Marek Janowski’s artistic path led him from Assistant positions in Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Hamburg to his appointment as General Music Director in Freiburg im Breisgau (1973-75) and Dortmund (1975-79). Whilst in Dortmund, his reputation grew rapidly and he became greatly involved in the international opera scene. There is not one world-renowned opera house where he has not been a regular guest since the late '70s, from the Metropolitan Opera New York to the Bayerischer Staatsoper Munich; from Chicago and San Francisco to Hamburg; from Vienna and Berlin to Paris.

Marek Janowski stepped back from the opera scene in the 1990s in order to concentrate on orchestral work and was thus able to continue the great German conducting tradition in the symphonic repertoire. He now enjoys an outstanding reputation amongst the great orchestras of Europe and North America. He is recognised for his ability to create orchestras of international standing as well as for his innovative programmes and for bringing a fresh and individual interpretation to familiar repertoire.
Between 1984 and 2000, as Musical Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Marek Janowski led the orchestra to international fame as the leading orchestra in France. From 1986 to 1990, in addition to his work in France, Janowski held the position of Chief Conductor of the Gürzenich-Orchester in Cologne, and between1997 and 1999 he was also First Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. From 2000 to 2005 Janowski served as Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and from 2001 to 2003 he also held the position of Chief Conductor with the Dresdner Philharmonie.
Marek Janowski has made many recordings over the past 30 years, including many complete operas and symphonic cycles, many of which have been awarded international prizes. To this day, his recording of Richard Wagner’s complete tetralogy The Ring Cycle with the Staatskapelle Dresden (1980-83) remains one of the most distinguished and musically interesting recordings that has been made of this work.

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) was founded in 1918 by Ernest Ansermet, who remained principal conductor until 1967. The orchestra employs 112 permanent musicians and performs subscription concert series in Geneva and Lausanne, the symphony concerts of the City of Geneva and the annual United Nations concert, while playing for opera performances at the Grand Théâtre of Geneva. Marek Janowski has been the orchestra’s Artistic and Music Director since 1 September 2005.

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande achieved world renown under its founding conductor and succeeding music directors: Paul Kletzki (1967-1970), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1970-1980), Horst Stein (1980-1985), Armin Jordan (1985-1997), Fabio Luisi (1997-2002) and Pinchas Steinberg (2002-2005). It continues to make an active contribution to music history by discovering or supporting leading contemporary composers of works first performed in Geneva. They include Benjamin Britten, Claude Debussy, Peter Eötvös, Heinz Holliger, Arthur Honegger, Michael Jarrell, Frank Martin, Darius Milhaud and Igor Stravinsky. Since 2000, the OSR has given the world premières of around two dozen works in cooperation with Radio Suisse Romande. The orchestra also supports new music in Switzerland by regularly commissioning works from such composers as William Blank and Michael Jarrell.

Music performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande was broadcast on radio and shortwave early on in close cooperation with Radio-Télévision Suisse Romande and was thus heard by millions of listeners throughout the world. Thanks to its partnership with Decca, which gave rise to several legendary recordings, the orchestra’s renown continued to grow. The OSR has also made recordings for Æon, Cascavelle, Denon, EMI, Erato, Harmonia Mundi, PentaTone and Philips, many of which have been awarded major prizes. For PentaTone, it is recording Bruckner’s complete symphonies, a project which will be completed in 2012.

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande has undertaken international tours and performed in prestigious concert halls in Europe (Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna, Salzburg, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Amsterdam, Budapest, Istanbul, London, Paris, Rome, Milan, etc.), in Asia (Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing), as well as in major cities in the Americas (Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, etc.). During the 2011-2012 season, the OSR will perform in Vienna and Cologne, and for the first time in Moscow and St Petersburg.

A frequent guest of festivals, the orchestra has appeared since 2000 at the Budapest Spring Festival, Chorégies d’Orange, Festival de Música de Canarias, Lucerne Easter Festival, Radio France and Montpellier Festival, Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Robeco Zomerconcerten, Septembre Musical in Montreux and the Bucharest Festival. Starting with the 2012-2013 season, Neeme Järvi will become the OSR’s Artistic and Music Director, with Kazuki Yamada as the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor.

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is supported by the Canton and the City of Geneva, Radio-Télévision Suisse Romande, friends’ associations as well as by several sponsors and donors. For the concerts performed in Lausanne, the orchestra also benefits from the support of the Canton of Vaud.

Booklet for Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser