Alain Altinoglu (born 9 October 1975) is a French conductor of
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
descent, and an academic teacher. He is chief conductor of both the
La Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...
opera in Brussels and the
Frankfurt Radio Symphony
The Frankfurt Radio Symphony () is the radio orchestra of Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcasting network of the German state of Hesse. Venues are Alte Oper and hr-Sendesaal. Music director is the French conductor Alain Altinoglu. Chi ...
, and has conducted at international opera houses, halls and festivals. He teaches at the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...
.
Life and career
Altinoglu was born in Paris to an Armenian family who were originally from Istanbul. In Istanbul, the Armenian surname Altunyan was
turkified to Altinoglu. Altinoglu studied music at the
. After finishing his studies at the Conservatoire, he joined the school's faculty and became director of the conducting class there in 2014.
Alain Altinoglu is one of the first conductors to conduct a production wholly, or partially composed of electronic music. In 2006 he conducted the symphonic orchestra that performed alongside
Jeff Mills
Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan), also known as "the Wizard", is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. In the late 1980s Mills founded the techno collective Underground Resistance with fellow Detroit techno pro ...
.
Altinoglu first appeared as a guest conductor with
La Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...
in 2011, conducting a production of Massenet's ''
Cendrillon''. In September 2015, La Monnaie announced the appointment of Altinoglu as its next music director, effective January 2016; it was his first formal post with an opera house.
In December 2019, La Monnaie announced the extension of Altinoglu's contract through 2025 and then through 2031.
He has conducted opera at the
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...
, the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
, the
Aix-en-Provence Festival
The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...
, and the
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra.
History
The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...
in Munich, among others.
At the
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...
, he conducted the 2015 performances of ''
Lohengrin
Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...
'' in the production by
Hans Neuenfels
Hans Neuenfels (; 31 May 1941 – 6 February 2022) was a German writer, poet, film producer, librettist, theatre director, opera director and theatre manager. As a director, he first focused on drama, staged at prominent houses such as the Vien ...
; his conducting was described as "brisk, suspenseful, with a feeling for dramatic intensification and yet always transparent".
In August 2019, Altinoglu first guest-conducted the
Frankfurt Radio Symphony
The Frankfurt Radio Symphony () is the radio orchestra of Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcasting network of the German state of Hesse. Venues are Alte Oper and hr-Sendesaal. Music director is the French conductor Alain Altinoglu. Chi ...
. In December 2019, the hr-Sinfonieorchester announced the appointment of Altinoglu as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021/22 season, with an initial contract of three seasons, as his first chief conductor position with a symphony orchestra.
''
Frankfurter Rundschau
The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (''FR'') is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. The ''Rundschaus editorial stance is social liberal. It holds that "independence, social justice and fairness" underlie its journalism. In Post-wa ...
'' wrote about his inaugural concert: "Plastic, concise, perfectly coordinated" ("").
In May 2023, the
Hessischer Rundfunk
(; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, A ...
announced an extension of Altinoglu's contract as the orchestra's chief conductor through the 2027–2028 season.
The orchestra plays traditionally the opening concert of the
Rheingau Musik Festival
The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...
at
Eberbach Abbey
Eberbach Abbey (German: Kloster Eberbach) is a former Cistercian monastery in Eltville in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its Romanesque architecture, Romanesque and Gothic (architecture), early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the m ...
, where Altinoglu has presented French music, such as Poulenc's
Stabat Mater
The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to the Virgin Mary that portrays her suffering as mother during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Saba ...
with the
MDR Rundfunkchor in 2023.
Altinoglu is married to the mezzo-soprano
Nora Gubisch. The couple perform in recital together, and have recorded commercially together. Altinoglu has also made other commercial recordings on CD and on DVD, including
Pascal Dusapin
Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy.
A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Pari ...
's ''Perelà uomo di fumo'', Lalo's ''
Fiesque'', Honegger's ''
Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher
Jeanne may refer to:
Places
* Jeanne (crater), on Venus
People
* Jeanne (given name)
* Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, c.1412–1431), French folk heroine and saint
* Jeanne Devos (religious sister)
* Jeanne Devos (photographer)
* Joan of Flander ...
'' and Massenet's ''
Thérèse''.
Awards
* 2023 Officier of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
Notes
References
External links
*
Alain Altinogluat the Konzertdirection Schmid agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altinoglu, Alain
French male conductors (music)
1975 births
Living people
Musicians from Paris
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
French people of Armenian descent
Armenian composers
Armenian conductors (music)
Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
21st-century French conductors (music)
21st-century French male musicians
Principal conductors of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony