You can’t hear and see all renowned musicians of the world, but you can try. This must have been the idea that motivated hundreds of music lovers to spend their Sunday evening of 3 February listening to the “Viennese” concert by the Sofia Philharmonic, conducted by Alfred Eschwé. And they must have been so glad to have made this choice – what we heard were gems, performed with feeling, inspiration and an impeccable sense of style. To sum up – inviting world-famous names is the perfect gift to the audience in this festive, 90^th season of the Sofia Philharmonic. And the best kind of policy by the orchestra management, which has, beyond any doubt, set itself the highest of goals.

Known primarily as an opera conductor, Mr. Eschwé has conducted operas thousands of times at the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro Bellini in Catania, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the opera theatres in Berlin, Munich, Tokyo, Helsinki… In 1989 he joined the Volksoper Wien, of which he was music director for many years. His debut at the Hamburgischen Staatsoper was in 1998, since then he has been a regular guest-conductor.

Alfred Eschwé was born in Vienna, graduated piano and conducting at the Vienna Konservatorium and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. His tutors include legendary conductor and pedagogue Hans Swarowsky. While a student he studied, in great depth, works by a number of composers. Since that time his “second” passion has been for symphony music, and it is just as strong as his “first”. He has conducted orchestras at prestigious venues like Hamburger Konzerthalle, Berliner Philharmonie, but most often at the Wiener Musikverein, together with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the WDR-Radio Orchestra in Cologne etc.

This was Mr. Eschwé’s first time in Bulgaria, his first time working with a Bulgarian orchestra, and probably his first interview for a Bulgarian media outlet. In his interview for Radio Bulgaria he explained how he had made the music selection for the concert in Sofia, spoke of his impression of the orchestra and of his professional preferences.

English version: Milena Daynova