Join legendary half-Russian conductor and composer José Serebrier and some other special guests for the launch of a new book about the maestro’s life and work.
Admired across the globe, Serebrier has proven for several decades that he is not only one of the most original composers, but that he is also a major conductor for our times, one which the legendary Leopold Stokowski has called "the greatest master of orchestral balance". This new book José Serebrier: Portraits of the Maestro by French music critic Michel Faure recounts his artistic journey and shares his many fascinating stories about encounters with famous personalities, past and present, in the classical music world.
One of most recorded classical artists in history, Serebrier has received 45 GRAMMY nominations in recent years.
There will be introductions from composer Gabriel Prokofiev, actor Simon Callow and former politician and classical music broadcaster Hon. David Mellor.
Pianist Alexander Karpeyev and flautist Pavel Mansurov will play excerpts from Maestro’s latest CD ‘Last Tango Before Sunrise’.
‘This new book is a musical journey that leads through the twentieth century. What a joy to realize that José Serebrier is not only a formidable violinist, conductor, and composer but also a marvelous storyteller.’ — Ned Rorem, composer, Pulitzer Prize winner
‘Quite apart from his brilliance as a musician, José Serebrier is one of the most entertaining and compelling of raconteurs. Indispensable, illuminating reading for anyone who loves music and great story-telling.’ — Simon Callow, actor, director and writer
‘José Serebrier concentrates the energy and vitality that makes him one of the best conductors of our time. This book recounts his amazing trajectory.’ — Thomas Frost, former executive, SONY Classical, GRAMMY Award-winning producer
Image credit: Clive Barda
José Serebrier, was born in Uruguay to a Russian father and a Polish mother.
When he was 21 years old, the legendary conductor Leopold Stokowski hailed Serebrier as "the greatest master of orchestral balance". After five years as Stokowski's Associate Conductor at New York's Carnegie Hall, Serebrier accepted an invitation from George Szell to become the Composer in Residence of the Cleveland Orchestra for Szell’s last two seasons. Szell discovered Serebrier when he won the Ford Foundation American Conductors Competition (together with James Levine). Serebrier was music director of America's oldest music festival, in Worcester, Massachusetts, until he organized Festival Miami, and served as its artistic director for many years. In that capacity, Serebrier commissioned many composers, including Elliot Carter's String Quartet No. 4, and conducted many American and world premieres.
Serebrier has made international tours with the Russian National Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Spain and many others.
Serebrier's first recording, the Ives' 4th Symphony with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, won a Grammy nomination. His recording of the Mendelssohn symphonies won the UK Music Retailers Association Award for Best Orchestral Recording, and his series of Shostakovich's Film Suites won the Deutsche Schallplatten Award for Best Orchestral Recording. Soundstage magazine selected Serebrier's recording of Scheherazade with the LPO as the Best Audiophile Recording. He has recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony, Czech State Philharmonic Brno, Weimar Staatskapelle, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide symphony orchestras and many others. "Serebrier Conducts Prokofiev, Beethoven and Tchaikowsky" filmed at the Sydney Opera, has been shown over 50 times on U.S. television. Serebrier conducted at the 2004 GRAMMY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, telecast live to 175 countries. Serebrier presently records for Naxos, BIS, Warner Classics, RPO Records and Sony/BMG.
As a composer, Serebrier has won most of the important awards in the United States, including two Guggenheims (as the youngest in that Foundation's history, at age 19), Rockefeller Foundation grants, commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Harvard Musical Association, the B.M.I. Award, Koussevitzky Foundation Award, etc. Serebrier has composed more than 100 works, published by Peer Music, Universal Edition Vienna, Kalmus, Warner Music, and Peters Corp. His First Symphony was premiered by Leopold Stokowski (who premiered several of his works) when Serebrier was 17, as a last-minute replacement for the then still unplayable Ives 4th Symphony.
His music has been recorded by conductors such as John Eliot Gardiner, among others. Serebrier made his US conducting debut at 19 with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, performing his Symphony No. 2, “Partita”. His new 3rd Symphony, "Symphonie Mystique" received a GRAMMY nomination for "Best New Composition of 2004". It was premiered at Carnegie Hall, NY in 2005. His "Carmen Symphony" CD, with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, won the Latin GRAMMY for "Best Classical Album of 2004". Serebrier's first recording with the New York Philharmonic on Warner Classics was released recently, and his new recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, also for Sony Classical was also recently released.
TICKETS
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