Ilan Volkov, Chief Conductor

Julian Rachlin, Violin Soloist

October 26 - November 12, 2005

The Grammy-nominated BBC SSO’s 2001 tour here was a triumph as audiences stood and cheered, theaters (Boston’s Symphony Hall, Philadelphia’s Irvine Aud) were full and critics raved.  Now they return to perform Berlioz, Beethoven, Rameau, Stravinsky and others.

At 27 years of age, Ilan Volkov is the youngest Chief Conductor in the history of the BBC orchestras. Mr. Volkov has guest conducted the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, and the Iceland Symphony.

“SSO makes sensational Hub Debut”  Boston Herald 

CDs: Hyperion, Koch, Naxos, CPO, Wergo, Cala and NMC

History

Founded by the composer and conductor Ian Whyte as the first full-time orchestral ensemble in Scotland, it began as a small studio orchestra, one of many ensembles that were employed by the BBC in cities across Britain. But Whyte had a grander vision - of a Scottish symphony orchestra that would play the latest music by Scottish composers, as well as works by the major orchestral composers, to the high standard he demanded. Through his tenacity, uncompromising musicianship and artistic integrity, he established an orchestra with a distinct character and tradition, later renamed the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Few orchestras can rival the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for its extraordinary range of repertoire and activity; its innovative approach to the classics, with special projects under its Chief Conductor Osmo Vänskä at Glasgow's City Hall, in which major symphonic cycles have generated enthusiastic new audiences and critical acclaim; its ability to play contemporary music with real commitment and energy; it is an orchestra that can startle a composer with the skill and instinctive understanding it brings to even the first reading of a difficult new score.

'No other British symphony orchestra knows the colours, densities, textures and tonal networks of modern music better than the BBC SSO, or can bring them more explosively to life than these players are able to do' Conrad Wilson, The Herald

One of five full time BBC orchestras, the BBC SSO is first and foremost a broadcasting and recording orchestra. This means that almost all of its performances, whether in the studio or around the country, are broadcast on the BBC's networks, primarily Radio 3 and Radio Scotland. On CD the orchestra has been specially praised for its work in new music, winning one of its two Gramophone Awards in the contemporary music category. It has a close relationship with Hyperion, recording several premiere recordings of Scottish romantic music for them, and for BIS has recorded a Nielsen symphony cycle with Osmo Vänskä

Ilan Volkov, Biography

Ilan Volkov is Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the youngest conductor ever to lead a BBC orchestra.  Taking up the appointment to succeed Osmo Vänskä in January 2003, he has already established himself as a major force in Scottish musical life and a rising star on the British music scene, following his sensational debut concerts.

Born in Israel in 1976, he has been conducting since his early teens and at 19 became Young Conductor in Association with the Northern Sinfonia of England. In 1999 he was invited by Seiji Ozawa to join the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Conductor.   During three years in Boston he conducted the orchestra both in its subscription concerts in Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, and has since returned as a guest conductor.  Other guest conducting appearances have included the New York Philharmonic, Detroit and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, NDR Symphony Hamburg, Deutsches Symphonie-Berlin, Russian National, Helsinki Philharmonic, Toulouse Capitole, London Philharmonic, Hallé and BBC Philharmonic.

He made his opera debut with Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 2002, conducting Eugene Onegin, and in 2004 he will conduct a new production of Onegin in San Francisco.  This summer he will make his BBC Proms debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony in London, and will return with them to the Edinburgh Festival. In September 2003 he will conduct the BBC SSO at the Prague Autumn Festival, and will lead the orchestra on tours to Estonia and Spain in 2004.  Also in the pipeline with the BBC SSO are recordings for the respected British label Hyperion and for the BBC Music Magazine.

Reviews

…from their 2001 U.S. tour

“SSO makes sensational Hub Debut” 

Boston Herald  March 19, 2001

“a virtuoso performance of Stravinsky’s “Petrushka…Whether it was the winds, woodwinds, percussionists, or strings, the results were uniformly excellent.” 

Worcester Telegram & Gazette  March 24, 2001

“(Beethoven’s) Seventh had a healthy muscularity and ruddy glow” and “(in Nielsen’s 4^th Symphony) the music felt explosive and risky…possible only because the players have the confidence in themselves and their conductor to take such risks.” 

Philadelphia Inquirer  March 19, 2001

“thrilling, polished playing from start to finish.” 

Times-Union, Albany March 22, 2001

“plays with edge-of-the-chair enthusiasm.  The principals are all capable…left the audience cheering, and before the afternoon was over, there were three encores.” 

The Boston Globe  March 19, 2001

“Concert shines with glow from Glasgow” 

Orlando Sentinel  March 14, 2001

…from around the UK

"Let others dine out on the time they hitched a ride with the first US tank to enter Baghdad. I was there when Ilan Volkov made his conducting debut"

Christopher Wood, Independent on Sunday

"There was a childlike emotional innocence to his view of Stravinsky's firebird that worked well to conjure up a fairy tale world of good and evil. Everything was held in soft focus and delicate colours"

James Allen, The Daily Telegraph

'Master and his magic band'
"In appointing him, the BBC SSO has brought to Scotland probably the most versatile, and certainly one of the most significant conductors of his generation... The breathtaking thrill of having a genuine musical pluralist in charge of one of our orchestras, a man who emanates authority across the spectrum of styles, brings something special to Scotland' s musical scene. As for the stunning concert itself... absolutely glorious."

Michael Tumelty, The Herald

"In his official debut as chief conductor with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, (Ilan) Volkov moved into a different sphere, took the SSO with him and produced one of the greatest musical experiences I have ever encountered in almost 20 years of writing for this page. Not even in its finest hours, not with former Chief Conductor Osmo Vänskä in any of his unforgettable Sibelius concerts, not with Donald Runnicles in the extraordinary performance of The Trojans, has the SSO produced playing like it did in this devastating performance of Mahler's Sixth Symphony...

From the outset Volkov moved the giant symphony with a fantastic clarity and sense of purpose that were as gripping as any theatrical drama. Nothing was overstated, nothing blown out of proportion... the result was that the soul of this great tragic masterpiece was laid bare without garnish... the orchestra, in the most unwaveringly concentrated performance I have ever, ever, heard it give, played out of its skin... a young conductor who really has got the lot. What a man.

The Herald, Monday January 27th 2003
 
"The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra already has enormous faith in its new chief conductor, the young Israeli-born maestro, Ilan Volkov. His concerts with the orchestra are billed as "Ilan Volkov conducts", and his glamorous looks and energetic style have already made him a pin-up among young conductors. If any piece could prove whether he is equal to the hype, it was Mahler's Sixth Symphony, the climax of his inaugural concert with the orchestra.

The Guardian, Tuesday 11 February 2003

Programs

Opening Piece:  CPE Bach symphony, Rameau Suite or contemporary piece

Violin Concerti: Berg and Brahms

Main Pieces:  Shostakovich 10, Beethoven 6

Discography

Personal & Biased Comments About The Artist

The Scots came and made quite a bang on their first tour here, thanks to very alert, exciting, forceful playing. They can turn on a dime, and stay in tune while they do it.  Some of that was due to their conductor, Osmo Vänska - and it was the orchestra's performance on this tour which convinced the Minnesota Orchestra to invite him as Music Director.  This tour features Ilan Volkov - his bio & reviews may make my comments pointless, but I'll add that Volkov's interests are broad enough to include the Baroque and Classical eras and to explore them with his orchestra.  Many conductors and orchestras gorge themselves on the showy Romantics.  It's shrewd management at the BBC SSO to land two on-the-rise conductors in succession.

Biography & Reviews in Word Format

Music In MP3 Format
Allegretto, Schubert
3rd Sym
(Opens with most MP3 players, including Quicktime which you can download for free)

Publicity Photos

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