Dubai, UAE
On Tuesday 10th May, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (JSO) returns to Dubai Opera for a performance of Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Mendelssohn’s third symphony. This concert is conducted by Hansjörg Schellenberger, and features the winner of the 56th Paganini Violin Competition, Giuseppe Gibboni. This performance is proudly presented by SAMIT Event Group.
Born in Munich, Germany, in 1948, Hansjörg Schellenberger began studying the oboe from an early age with the solo oboist of the Regensburg City Theater, going on to win the Jugend musiziert German national competition a mere four years later in 1965. After studying the oboe under Manfred Clement, and conducting under Jan Koetsier, Schellenberger became an oboist in the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra on 1 September 1971, and subsequently advanced to the post of its solo oboist in 1975. He concurrently pursued further studies under Helmut Winschermann (oboe) and Martin Stefani (conducting) at the Detmold College of Music. In September 1977 Schellenberger regularly began assisting in the series of the Berlin Philharmonic, which made him its solo oboist three years later.
During these early years Schellenberger had already distinguished himself with numerous awards and activities, including First Prize at the German Music College Competition in 1971, and Second Prize at the ARD Competition in Munich in 1972, among many others.
Schellenberger has performed as a chamber musician and a soloist with many outstanding colleagues, including Herbert von Karajan, Carlo Maria Giulini, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, and Claudio Abbado. In his role as a conductor, he has appeared with a variety of esteemed ensembles, including the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta de Valencia, and many other top-quality orchestras. In 2013, Schellenberger was appointed chief conductor of the Okayama Philharmonic Orchestra.
Schellenberger began teaching at the Berlin College of the Arts in 1981, going on to co-found the Ensemble Wien-Berlin in 1983, and found the Berlin Haydn Ensemble in 1991. Since 2000 he has had a small and very select oboe class at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid, where he also teaches chamber music classes for the wind players of the school’s International Institute for Chamber Music.
The artist has featured in more than 50 CDs with all the major recording firms, and has gone on to found his own label, Campanella Musica, in 1997.
An extraordinary talent, Gibboni manages to astonish with each of his performances. Solid technique, impeccable intonation even on an instrument as unfamiliar to him as the Cannone, which he took up for the first time in these days, the young artist does not 'only' have the qualities of a great virtuoso: he also has a first-rate interpretative intelligence, a full cantabile and is capable of multiple dynamic nuances. La Repubblica, Roberto Iovino
With flawless technique and compelling expressiveness, Giuseppe Gibboni won over the jury and audience of the Paganini Violin Competition in Genoa in October 2021. The violinist, born in 2001, was the first Italian in 24 years to win the overall prize, as well as the audience choice prize and special prize for the best interpretations of Niccolò Paganini's Capriccios and Violin Concerto. Subsequently, the now 22-year-old musician has begun an extensive concert career. He made his debut with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under the direction of Lorenzo Viotti. Shortly thereafter, he played with guitarist Carlotta Dalia at the invitation of Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome; the concert was broadcast live on Italian radio.
Read MoreThe highlights of the season 2022/23 include his US debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Jader Bignamini as well as concerts with the Orchestra della Toscana under Diego Ceretta and the Orchestra Teatro San Carlo in Naples under Dan Ettinger. Giuseppe Gibboni performed the Violin Concerto by Wynton Marsalis together with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI under John Axelrod and Vivaldi’s *Four Seasons* with the Sinfonietta Riga in Latvia. He regularly plays recitals all over Italy, for example at Amici della Musica in Florence, Serate Musicali in Milan, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, as well as the Stresa Festival, among others.
In autumn 2023, Giuseppe Gibboni gave his debut with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra under Zubin Mehta, performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, as well as with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano under Joel Sandelson, performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. During the current season, following a tour throughout Brazil and among numerous engagements in Italy, he can also be heard as part of the series “Debüt im Nikolaisaal” in Potsdam as well as at Heidelberger Frühling.
The son of a family of musicians, Giuseppe Gibboni was first taught by his father Daniele Gibboni before attending the Salerno Conservatory “Martucci.” At the age of 14, he was admitted to the Stauffer Academy in Cremona, where he received lessons from Salvatore Accardo. He also successfully graduated with a Diploma of Honor from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. After a five-year advanced course at the Accademia Perosi in Biella with Pavel Berman, he now studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg as a student of Pierre Amoyal.
Giuseppe Gibboni had already attracted attention with a series of competition successes. He became known to a large television audience in 2016 through his success in the *Prodigi – La musica è vita* competition broadcast by RAI 1 in collaboration with UNICEF. In the same year, he won the first prize and a special prize at the Andrea Postacchini Violin Competition, followed by successes at the Leonid Kogan International Competition in Brussels (2017), the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest (2018), and the Valsesia Musica Competition (2020).
Giuseppe Gibboni recorded his debut CD at the age of 15 for the Warner Classics label. Since 2017, he has been sponsored by Classically Connected, Inc. (formerly the Si-Yo foundation), who provided his ‘F. Tourte bow 1800 Ca.’ He plays the violin ‘Auer, Benvenuti’ by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona 1699, kindly lent to him by a German Foundation. As the winner of the Paganini Competition, he also had the opportunity to perform the "Cannone," Niccolò Paganini's favorite instrument built by Guarneri del Gesù in 1743
The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, IBA was established in 1936 as a small studio ensemble, which grew into the Palestine Broadcasting Service Orchestra. With the foundation of the State of Israel the orchestra became the national radio orchestra, known as the Kol Israel Orchestra. In the 1970s, the orchestra was expanded and became the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Broadcasting Authority. The orchestra was the first to perform in Israel the works of Sofia Gubaidolina, Henri Dutilleux, Alfred Schnittke and others. Through the years some of the greatest musicians have performed with the orchestra, among them Arthur Rubinstein, Igor Markevitch, Otto Klemperer, Henryk Szeryng, Isaac Stern, Radu Lupu and Yefim Bronfman. One of the most notable premières performed by the orchestra was The Seven Gates of Jerusalem by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, conducted by Lorin Maazel, which was composed for the finale of the Jerusalem 3000 celebrations. This was a joint venture with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. The orchestra often tours in Europe and the United States, and has played in some of the most prestigious venues. Recently JSO had successful tours to USA, where concerts took place from Florida to Massachusetts and for the first time a tour in Japan, both tours with Dmitry Yablonsky as conductor and soloist.
