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Stéphane Denève: The Second Artistic Director of the New World Symphony

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Stéphane Denève: The Second Artistic Director of the New World Symphony

Introduction to Stéphane Denève. 1:48 min. Interview: Raymond Elman + Orlando Garcia.  Post-Production: Lee Skye. Music:  Amernet String Quartet + Dee Yan-Kee.  Recorded via ZOOM.  5/9/2023, Miami.

 

STÉPHANE DENÈVE is the new Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and will also be Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. He recently concluded terms as Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Brussels Philharmonic, and previously served as Chief Conductor of Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) and Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Recognized internationally for the exceptional quality of his performances and programming, Stéphane Denève regularly appears at major concert venues with the world’s greatest orchestras and soloists. He has a special affinity for the music of his native France and is a passionate advocate for music of the 21st century.

Stéphane Denève’s recent and upcoming engagements include appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (with whom he conducted the 2020 Nobel Prize concert), Orchestre National de France, Czech Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, DSO Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Rotterdam Philharmonic.

In North America, Stéphane Denève made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has appeared several times both in Boston and at Tanglewood, and he regularly conducts the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony. In 2022 Denève was the conductor for John Williams’ official 90th Birthday Gala with NSO Washington; he is also a popular guest at many of the U.S. summer music festivals, including the Hollywood Bowl, Bravo! Vail, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Blossom Music Festival, Festival Napa Valley, Grand Teton Music Festival and Music Academy of the West.

Stéphane Denève frequently performs with many of the world’s leading solo artists, including Leif Ove Andsnes, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Nicola Benedetti, Yefim Bronfman, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, James Ehnes, Kirill Gerstein, Hélène Grimaud, Augustin Hadelich, Hilary Hahn, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Leonidas Kavakos, Lang Lang, Olivier Latry, Paul Lewis, Nikolai Lugansky, Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Kelly O’Connor, Víkingur Ólafsson, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Gil Shaham, Akiko Suwanai, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Frank Peter Zimmermann.  He also treasures the memory of Nicholas Angelich and Lars Vogt, two exceptional artists with whom he enjoyed a close musical friendship over many years.

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 9 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   1:53 min. 

Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

 

DEVELOP A VOICE:   1:31 min.

What was the first instrument you played?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE:   2:18 min.

Where did you go to school and what did you learn that still informs you today?

 

BREAKS THE RULES:   3:28 min.

What were some of the key milestones in the evolution of your career?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 1:47 min.

What made you consider moving to the United States with your family, and how did that impact you?

 

UNDERSTANDS THE AUDIENCE’S PERSPECTIVE:   1:20 min.

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. For over 50 years, the Cincinnati Opera performed in the middle of the zoo at the Cincinnati Zoo Pavilion.  During the years at the Zoo, a number of now famous opera singers frequented the stage: Norman Treigle, Beverly Sills, Sherrill Milnes, Montserrat Caballé, James Morris, and Roberta Peters, to name a few. Did you ever conduct in that space?

 

COLLABORATION:  6:59 min.

Let’s bring composer and conductor Orlando Garcia into our conversation. Orlando was the cover person of Volume 5, Number 1 of our e-Magazine.

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:   3:06 min.

As a visual artist, I realize that very few artists will be remembered over time, because professors only have room for 5-10 artists in their slide presentations for any specific era.  How do you balance your personal preferences, with the orchestra’s preferences, with audience preferences, etc. when you are programming a concert?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:   5:12 min.

The New World Symphony has helped develop a South Florida audience for contemporary music. How do you see contemporary music being presented at the New World Symphony?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   3:40 min

The Frank Gehry designed New World Center is one of the most technologically advanced concert halls in the world. How does that impact your choices?

 

COLLABORATION:   4:30 min

We published an ArtSpeak video conversation with animator and director Lauren Fisher, who won two Emmy Awards for animation of “Greatness Code.” I think she would be a fabulous collaborator for the New World Symphony.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   0:57 sec.

Have you already met with or spoken to architect Frank Gehry?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   1:14 min.

What pieces in the 21st century should be considered for the repertoire?

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:   9:00 min

Which performance of music with visuals at the New World Symphony was most exciting for you?

 

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION:   1:41 min.

In 2017, we published a video conversation with Howard Herring, the President and CEO of the New World Symphony (NWS). Noticing that all of the fellows are poised and physically attractive, I asked Howard if the NWS recruited people for those attributes.  Howard responded, “No. We recruit for leadership.”

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  3:12 min. 

What’s your favorite movie?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   1:06 min

We published a video conversation with Orlando in 2019, and he said that his favorite movie is “2001: A Space Odyssey” by Stanley Kubrick.

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:    2:56 min.

You are challenged with being the successor to the beloved Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT), the Co-Founder and Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony.