Journal
Beethoven's 9th for the New Year
On January 5th and 6th Alexander Shelley begins the new year with two sold out performances of Beethoven's 9th Symphony in the Meistersingerhalle, Nuremberg. The concerts with the Nuremberg Symphony and the Nuremberg Philharmonic Choir mark the beginning of a year in which Shelley - fresh from extending his contract through until 2017 - and his orchestra will continue to build on the successes of the previous seasons, including a tour to China in the Autumn. In the week of January 9th Shelley then returns to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa for a programme of Schubert, Bruch and...
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Now in the second week of his three week tour of Asia, Alexander Shelley tonight performs Holst's "The Planets" as well as Britten's Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and William Walton's Cello Concerto with the Seoul Philharmonic and Alisa Weilerstein. He will subsequently travel on to Singapore to conduct a programme of Richard Strauss, Franz Liszt and Rachmaninov with the Singapore Symphony and Stephen Hough. The tour, which began in Kuala Lumpur with Brahms Second Symphony and Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto with the Malaysia Philharmonic and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, has seen his debut...
> read more> Leave a commentBerlin Debut
In the week in which he makes his debut in Berlin, Alexander Shelley is interviewed by Clemency Burton-Hill on the concert, his work in Nuremberg and his inspirations outside of music. Read the full interview below. You’re about to make your debut conducting in Berlin, at the Komische Oper - how does that feel? It feels incredibly exciting! It’s wonderful to play in any great capital city, of course, but Berlin has such a phenomenal musical history and such discerning audiences for any form of art, particularly music. I’m simply looking forward to it. What are you playing? I...
> read more> Leave a commentWagner, Wagner, Wagner
Following three intensive weeks of concerts with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, which have included Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony, Sibelius's 5th Symphony, a Latin-American programme and the world premiere of Stefan Hippe's accordion concerto "PolluXulloP", Alexander Shelley and his orchestra this weekend tackle an all-Wagner programme featuring the legendary soprano Cheryl Studer and Belgian baritone Wilfried van den Brande. The concerts in Nuremberg and at the Koningin Elisabethzaal in Antwerp will include extracts from the Meistersinger, Lohengrin and Tristan and Isolde and will be...
> read more> Leave a commentShelley extends Nuremberg contract until 2017
After two hugely successful seasons at the helm of the Nürnberger Symphoniker and two years into his four contract, Alexander Shelley this week signed an extension of his contract and will remain in charge of the orchestra until 2017. Managing Director of the orchestra, Lucius Hemmer commented: "Shelley has been a stroke of luck for the orchestra. His both elegant and electrifying music making is a constant motivation for the musicians to give their best for the audience. With this early contract extension we have laid the foundations for six further artistically successful years. I...
> read more> Leave a commentGlowing response for Shelley, Carpenter and the Kammerphilharmonie
Described as the highlight of the Bremen Music Festival, Alexander Shelley’s concert with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and organist Cameron Carpenter received rave reviews for the programme of all-American music. Commenting on the orchestra’s performance of Copland’s Billy the Kid, the Tageszeitung remarked that “...The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie was spellbinding, thanks to the incisive, vital and detailed conducting..." and praised Carpenter’s performance both as instrumentalist and composer while adding that "...Anyone capable of matching the level of a musician of...
> read more> Leave a commentTivoli Times Five
Returning to the Tivoli Festival for the fifth time in six years, Alexander Shelley this week conducts the Copenhagen Philharmonic in their penultimate concert of the season. The all-Elgar programme (a rarity, both in England and abroad) features both the Enigma Variations and his substantial tone poem "In the South" as well as the Serenade for Strings. The Pomp and Circumstance Marches numbers 1 and 4 bookend the evening for which tickets are still available here.
> read more> Leave a commentWorld Record at the Klassik Open Air
Conducting and presenting Europe’s largest open-air classical concert for the third year running, Alexander Shelley on Saturday also lead the 60,000 strong crowd in the World’s largest ever sung canon. Having performed Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Violin concerto (with soloist Erik Schumann) and Rachmaninov’s mammoth 2nd Symphony with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Shelley ran 100 metres into the thick of the audience, climbed a 9metre tower and proceeded to divide the audience into four groups, rehearse them separately and then direct them through the canon using airport...
> read more> Leave a commentNew Dates Released
Alexander Shelley’s dates for the coming sixth months are now available to view on this website. The months from September to March see him making his debut with, among others, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Malaysian Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony and Houston Symphony as well as returning to the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and for his fifth visit to the Tivoli Festival, Copenhagen. His soloists during this period...
> read more> Leave a commentSeattle Debut
Conducting Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Lludmilla, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and Orff’s Carmina Burana, Alexander Shelley this weekend makes his debut with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall. The concert also marks his debut in the US and will be followed by his debut in Houston in March. He is joined for this week’s performances by the Seattle Symphony Chorale, Vocalpoint! and the Northwest Boychoir as well as the soloists Christina Siemens (Soprano), Michael Anthony McGee (Baritone) and Paul Karaitis (Tenor).
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Alexander Shelley, London 2009
