Bertrand de Billy

Last updated
Bertrand de Billy Bertrand de Billy 2024.jpg
Bertrand de Billy

Bertrand de Billy (born Paris, 11 January 1965) is a French and Swiss conductor.

Contents

He attended a Jesuit school, but only started serious musical studies when he was around 14–15; he studied piano and violin. [1]

After his career as an instrumental musician, de Billy began his conducting career in Paris. He later moved to Germany and built up his career as an opera conductor. His professional operatic conducting debut was for Verdi's La Traviata in Oviedo, Spain, in 1991, replacing a conductor at short notice. [1] He was the Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) at the Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau from 1993 to 1995. At the Vienna Volksoper, he held the post of first conductor from 1996 to 1998. From 1999 to 2004, de Billy was chief conductor of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, after the reopening of the theatre.

De Billy conducts mostly from memory, although he usually has the score in front of him in case problems occur. He prefers the smaller opera theatres (Theater an der Wien, Châtelet, Garnier), where more intimacy can be found with the audience. [1]

Since 2002, de Billy has served as chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO Wien). His performances with the orchestra have included opera productions at the OsterKlang festival and at the summer festival KlangBogen Wien. His recordings with the RSO Wien have included Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland . De Billy has had disputes with management over funding and the continuing status of the orchestra. In January 2009, the RSO Wien announced the appointment of Cornelius Meister as its seventh chief conductor, effective with the 2010–2011 season. [2]

Honors

France

Autriche

Discographie

CD symphonique  https://debilly.com/cd-recordings/ [archive]

CD Opéra  https://debilly.com/cd-opera-works / [archive]

DVD  https://debilly.com/dvd-blue-ray-releases/ [archive]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolaus Harnoncourt</span> Austrian conductor (1929–2016)

Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical and early Romantic works. Among his best known recordings are those of Bach, whose 193 cantatas he recorded with Gustav Leonhardt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Davis</span> English conductor

Sir Colin Rex Davis was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom he was particularly associated were Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorin Maazel</span> French-American conductor

Lorin Varencove Maazel was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in the concert halls of Europe by 1960 but, by comparison, his career in the U.S. progressed far more slowly. He served as music director of The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, among other posts. Maazel was well-regarded in baton technique and possessed a photographic memory for scores. Described as mercurial and forbidding in rehearsal, he mellowed in old age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georges Prêtre</span> Musical artist

Georges Prêtre was a French orchestral and opera conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Frémaux</span> French conductor (1921–2017)

Louis Joseph Félix Frémaux was a French conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yu Long</span> Chinese conductor

Yu Long is a Chinese conductor. He is currently artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic and of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Yu is also the Chairman of the Artistic Committee of the Beijing Music Festival and co-director of the Music in the Summer Air Festival (MISA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simone Young</span> Australian conductor

Simone Margaret Young AM is an Australian conductor. She is currently chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Cluytens</span> Belgian-born French conductor (1905–1967)

André Cluytens was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. His repertoire extended from Viennese classics through French composers to 20th century works. Although much of his career was spent in France, he was the first French conductor at Bayreuth in 1955; he also conducted The Ring and Parsifal at La Scala.

Sylvain Cambreling is a French conductor.

The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a substantial focus on contemporary classical music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathalie Stutzmann</span> French contralto and conductor (born 1965)

Nathalie Stutzmann is a French contralto and, in her later career, conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Dervaux</span> French conductor, composer and pedagogue (1917–1992)

Pierre Dervaux was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Jean and Noël Gallon, as well as piano with Isidor Philipp, Armand Ferté, and Yves Nat. He also served as principal conductor of the Opéra-Comique (1947–53), and the Opéra de Paris (1956–72). In this capacity he directed the French première of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. He was also Vice-President of the Concerts Pasdeloup (1949–55), President and Chief conductor of the Concerts Colonne (1958–92), Musical Director of the Orchestre des Pays de Loire (1971–79) as well as holding similar posts at the Quebec Symphony Orchestra (1968–75), where he collaborated with concertmaster Hidetaro Suzuki, and the Nice Philharmonic (1979–82).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiener Singverein</span> Concert choir of the Vienna Musikverein

The Vienna Singverein is the concert choir of the Vienna Musikverein with around 230 members. It is regularly requested by top orchestras and conductors for large and varied projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Claude Casadesus</span> French conductor

Jean-Claude Probst, known professional as Jean-Claude Casadesus, is a French conductor.

Cornelius Meister (born 23 February 1980 in Hannover, is a German conductor and pianist.

Laurent Petitgirard is a French classical composer and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Soustrot</span> French classical conductor (born 1949)

Marc Soustrot is a French classical conductor. He was the music director of the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire from 1976 to 1994, and from 1995 to 2003 GMD of the Beethoven Orchester Bonn which plays in both opera and concert. He has worked at major opera houses in Europe and made several recordings, such as Leonore, Beethoven's first version of Fidelio, the piano concertos and symphonies by Camille Saint-Saëns, Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, and Penderecki's St Luke Passion.

Christoph Campestrini is an Austrian conductor.

Claudius Traunfellner is an Austrian conductor.

Guido Mancusi is an Austrian-Italian conductor and composer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bertrand de Billy, chef d'orchestre, interview with Valéry Fleurquin, 3 January 2007, in French accessed 7 February 2014.
  2. "Cornelius Meister zum neuen RSO Chefdirigenten ab September 2010 bestellt" (PDF) (Press release). Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. 9 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
Cultural offices
Preceded by Music Director, Gran Teatre del Liceu
19992004
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Conductor, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
20022010
Succeeded by