Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir

The 2023/24 season will be the first with Hannu Lintu, our new Music Director, at the helm of the Gulbenkian Orchestra. He will continue the Mahler cycle, begun in 2022/23, with the involvement of two other conductors closely linked to Gulbenkian Music. Lorenzo Viotti will conduct Symphony No. 7, Hannu Lintu himself the sumptuous Symphony No. 2, Ressurrection, and Giancarlo Guerrero Symphony No. 1. Other concerts conducted by Hannu Lintu will include Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Gulbenkian Choir.

Opening the Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir cycle, John Nelson will continue to explore the work of Hector Berlioz with Roméo et Juliette. In addition to those now familiar to us, talented new conductors will also be presented, such as Aziz Shokhakimov, Robert Treviño, Marc Albrecht and Matthew Halls.

The popular Sunday Concerts will consist of five new programmes and will continue to provide a varied audience with the opportunity to experience famous pieces from the classical repertoire, with a stage presentation before their interpretation by the musicians of the Gulbenkian Orchestra.

Great Interpreters

One of the high points of this season will undoubtedly be Maria João Pires’ Schubertiade project. This will feature four concerts over three days in September with a varied repertoire and the involvement of musicians whom the pianist has invited especially for the occasion. Another heavily awaited event is the Catalan musician Jordi Savall’s return to Gulbenkian Music at the head of his eclectic instrumental ensemble Hespèrion XXI. In tandem, the exceptional duo of Evgeny Kissin and Matthias Goerne will take us into the romantic world of Schumann and Brahms.

The Venice-based baroque ensemble Il pomo d’oro will make a return, this time in the company of the acclaimed countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński. Another musical moment that will involve the audience in an atmosphere of deep spirituality and higher artistic performance will be the rendition of Monteverdi’s Vespers by Cappella Mediterranea and the Gulbenkian Choir, conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón.

Joyce DiDonato will reveal another of his various facets with a recital entitled Songplay. The American mezzo brings together musicians from opera, jazz and tango for the pure pleasure of improvisation, experimentation and sharing. A regular presence at Gulbenkian Music, Martha Argerich returns with a new programme, now partnering with the South Korean pianist Dong Hyek Lim.

Piano Series

The piano cycle will include seven different personalities with distinct repertoires. Elisabeth Leonskaja, la Grande Dame of piano, will begin the series in October and Grigory Sokolov will bring it to a close in May. Between these two dates, we will explore the incredibly rich field of piano music and its musicians, with performances by the young French genius Alexandre Kantorow along with Arcadi Volodos, Denis Kozhukhin, Piotr Anderszewski and Ivo Pogorelich.

We welcome you warmly to Gulbenkian Music in the hope, once again, that you will share our passion for music.