Biography
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Born
24 February 1972 (age 52)
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Born In
Athens, Attiki, Greece
Theodor Currentzis was born on the 24th of February 1972 in Athens.
At the age of four he started to play piano, aged seven he took the lessons of violin, and five years later simultaneously entered the theoretical faculty and the faculty of string instruments of the Greek Conservatory in Athens.
1987 Theodor Currentzis finished the theoretical faculty of the Greek Conservatory and in the year of 1989 – the string one.
In 1988-89 he studied the vocal in the Greek Conservatory in the class of professor D. Arivas, continued his studies in the Athens’ Academy with Professor K. Poskalias, and later attended the master-classes of T. Gabora.
In 1987 he starts the conduct-training with the professor G. Hadginikos and in 1989 with Professor B. Shreck.
In 1990 Theodore Currentzis becomes the head conductor of “Musica Aeterna Ensemble” in Athens. From 1994 till 1999 he studies to lead the orchestra with the legendary Professor Ilja Musin (whose pupils were V. Georgiev, U. Temirkanov, S. Bichkov and many others) in the St. Petersburg State Conservatory.
In December of 1996 his from memory (!) performance of “The Rite of Spring” by I. Stravinsky and five symphonies of G. Mahler gets a loud response in St. Petersburg.
Both as a conductor and a soloist he took part in the concerts of St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre.
From 1999 Theodor Currentzis becomes a conduct’s assistant of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the guidance of Jury Temirkanov.
In autumn 2001 in the Theatre Helikon Opera Moscow there took place a premiere of the G. Verdi’s opera “Falstaff”, where Theodor Currentzis appeared to the public as a conductor and a production director. On repeated occasions Currentzis headed the orchestra for the Helikon Opera performance of “Aida” by G. Verdi.
He permanently collaborates with the orchestra “Moscow Virtuosi”, The Big Symphony Orchestra, The Russian National Orchestra, The State Academic Symphony Orchestra, New Russia State Symphony Orchestra. Together with the “Pratum Integrum” orchestra, which has unified the best Russian performers of early music, playing the original historical instruments, he prepared, performed and took part in the recordings of CD of the first Russian symphony – C-dur symphony by Maxim Berezovsky. Since 2003 till 2008 Theodor Currentzis was a conductor of The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia.
On repeated occasions Theodor Currentzis performed on the festivals in Colmar, Bangkok, Carton, London, and Ludwigsburg. He was a conducting director of the world premier of the Russian opera play “Slepaya Lastochka” (“Blind Swallow”) by A. Shetinsky (libretto by A. Parin), in Locum (Germany), during the musical festival (2002).
In October, 2003 Theodor Currentzis performed as a conductor and production director of the ballet “The Fairy's Kiss” by I. Stravinsky in Novosibirsk Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (ballet-master Alla Sigalova).
In March, 2004 he put on the stage of the Novosibirsk State Opera And Ballet Theatre and produced the opera “Aida” by G. Verdi (director Dmitry Cherniakov). The play was awarded a premium of The Golden Mask Performing Arts Festival.
Since May 2004 he is a head conductor of the Novosibirsk Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The same year on the basis of the theatre he founded a chamber orchestra “Musica Aeterna Ensemble” and the chorus “The New Siberian Singers”, which is specialized in authentic manner of performance.
In the years of 2005 and 2006 he brilliantly put into practice a concert performance of operas “Dido and Aeneas” (H. Purcell), “Orfeo ed Euridice” (Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck, edited by H. Berlioz), “Cosi fan Tutti”, “Le Nozze di Figaro”, “Don Giovanni” (W.-A. Mozart), and 2007 “Cinderella” by G. Rossini. During the last several years he fulfilled more than 20 world wide premiers of various works of art.
In the upshot of the season 2005-2006 in the opinion of top-level critics he was proclaimed a “Person of The Year”.
At the beginning of the season 2006-2007 Theodor Currentzis anew presented himself as a conducting production director of performances of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre such as “Le Nozze di Figaro” (directed by Tatjana Gurbatch) and “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” (directed by Henrich Baranovsky).
In the autumn of 2006 among the well-known young cultural workers Theodor Currentzis became a co-organizer of International Festival and School Territory where he presented “Dixit Dominus” by Hendel, “Das Lied von der Erde” by Gustav Mahler, 14th Symphony of Dmitry Shostakovich, "Quatre chants pour franshir le seuil" by Gerard Grisey, three compositions of the young composers Sergey Nevsky, Alexandr Shetinsky and Dmitry Curliandsky. He also conducted a master-class for the conducting faculty students.
In the context of the project “Granting Honours to Sviatoslav Richter” on the 20th of March 2007, the birthday of the great pianist, Theodor Currentzis presented to the audience “Requiem” by G. Verdi, having changed the habitual interpretation and using the instruments which sounded on the premiere in the year 1874.
In April 2007 “Cinderella” (Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre) became the winner of the National Theatre Prize “Golden Mask”. The conductor and the musical director of the ballet Theodor Currentzis was rewarded with the Special Jury Prize “For the Brilliant Interpretation of S. S. Prokofiev’s score”.
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