Biography
The MusicAeterna orchestra, together with its affiliated choir, has served as the central outlet for the symphonic vision of the iconoclastic Greek-born Russian maestro Teodor Currentzis. While holding the post of chief conductor at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, Currentzis established MusicAeterna in 2004; he assembled its members through auditions across Russia and convinced them to relocate to Siberia, where they submitted to his demanding rehearsal and studio regimen. As James Rhodes observed in The London Guardian, “They live, eat and breathe there, and the majority of their waking moments are spent creating music.”
Throughout those years the ensemble participated in numerous Alpha-label projects led by Currentzis, among them his 2010 account of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14, Op. 135—one of his earliest ventures beyond the operatic canon. In 2011 Currentzis assumed leadership of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre; MusicAeterna was then reassembled in that Siberian city, where the conductor began to cultivate his singularly theatrical readings of works spanning the Baroque era to the early twentieth century. The orchestra subsequently joined the Sony Classical roster, issuing its inaugural release under that imprint—a set of Rameau arias—in 2013. Subsequent Sony Classical recordings of Mozart operas carried the group’s reputation worldwide and, on several occasions, earned Currentzis awards for his operatic stagings.
Currentzis and MusicAeterna unveiled their Sony Classical recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (“Pathétique”) in 2017. By this juncture the ensemble was regularly sought after for standalone concerts independent of staged productions. The musicians have appeared in Berlin, Paris, Lisbon, Athens, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Vienna, Amsterdam, London, and Baden-Baden, as well as in their Perm base. Their programs extend from Baroque choral literature through Russian and contemporary scores, and they have presented a concert staging of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas on tour. In 2016 MusicAeterna became the first Russian orchestra invited to inaugurate the Salzburg Festival.
Throughout those years the ensemble participated in numerous Alpha-label projects led by Currentzis, among them his 2010 account of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14, Op. 135—one of his earliest ventures beyond the operatic canon. In 2011 Currentzis assumed leadership of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre; MusicAeterna was then reassembled in that Siberian city, where the conductor began to cultivate his singularly theatrical readings of works spanning the Baroque era to the early twentieth century. The orchestra subsequently joined the Sony Classical roster, issuing its inaugural release under that imprint—a set of Rameau arias—in 2013. Subsequent Sony Classical recordings of Mozart operas carried the group’s reputation worldwide and, on several occasions, earned Currentzis awards for his operatic stagings.
Currentzis and MusicAeterna unveiled their Sony Classical recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (“Pathétique”) in 2017. By this juncture the ensemble was regularly sought after for standalone concerts independent of staged productions. The musicians have appeared in Berlin, Paris, Lisbon, Athens, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Vienna, Amsterdam, London, and Baden-Baden, as well as in their Perm base. Their programs extend from Baroque choral literature through Russian and contemporary scores, and they have presented a concert staging of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas on tour. In 2016 MusicAeterna became the first Russian orchestra invited to inaugurate the Salzburg Festival.
Albums
