Musical Enigma
Oxford Philharmonic
Orchestra
Orchestra
Dubai, UAE
On Tuesday 6th February, South Korean/German violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, the Winner of the 2009 Seoul Violin Competition, 2010 Sendai Violin Competition and 2010 Indianapolis International Violin Competition, travels to Dubai to present a concert as part of the 2024 InClassica International Music Festival, organised by SAMIT Event Group. Teaming up with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, who shall be performing under the baton of Estonian conductor Anu Tali, Kang shall interpret a number of works throughout the evening, starting with Max Bruch's renowned 1866 Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, easily one of the most famous and popular entries in the violin repertoire. This is followed by Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in C minor, a work composed during the Covid-19 pandemic that is notably darker in tone and imagery than many of his earlier works, presenting a distinct conflict between the soloist and the orchestra, after which comes Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, popularly known as the Enigma Variations. Premiered in 1899, this orchestral work consists of fourteen variations on an original theme, with each variation being inspired by members of his circle of close acquaintances.
Described by the Herald Tribune as “charismatic, brilliant, energetic”, Anu Tali is one of the most captivating and versatile conductors on the international scene today, an artist whose pursuit of fresh and ingenious artistic creativity is acclaimed worldwide by critics and public alike.
Highlights of the 2022/23 season include a new production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, appearances with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Orchestre National d’île de France and a return to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Former Music Director of the Sarasota Orchestra in Florida, Anu Tali appears regularly with orchestras worldwide including the New Japan and Tokyo Philharmonic orchestras, Orchestre National de France, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In Germany she has worked with the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Ensemble Modern.
In opera, Tali has had major success with the production of Carmen at Magdeburg State Opera and was invited to conduct the Freiburger Barockorchester in a production of Gluck’s Telemaco at the Schwetzingen Festival and Theater Basel. Another notable highlight includes acclaimed semi-staged performances of Goebbels’ Songs of Wars I Have Seen with ensembles including the London Sinfonietta at New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Southbank Centre and in Saint Paul/Minnesota, Seattle and Barcelona. In 2021, she made history as the first woman to conduct an opera at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, in the Calixto Bieito production of Carmen.
Together with her twin sister Kadri, Anu Tali founded the Nordic Symphony Orchestra in 1997, with the aim of utilising music as a tool to develop cultural contacts between Estonia and Finland, and to unite musicians from around the world. Today the Nordic Symphony Orchestra brings together musicians from the world’s leading orchestras, with members from fifteen countries. In autumn 2007 the orchestra undertook its first European tour to Berlin and Munich.
Her debut recording, Swan Flight, (Finlandia/Warner Classics) earned Tali the 2003 ECHO Klassik ‘Young Artist of the Year’ Award. Other recordings include Action Passion Illusion for Warner Classics, featuring works by Rachmaninov, Sibelius and Erkki-Sven Tüür. And her album of Tüür’s Strata and Noēsis, released on ECM, was also met with significant critical acclaim.
Anu Tali has been the subject of numerous documentaries by international broadcasters such as ARTE, NHK Japan, YLE Finland and Deutsche Welle. She began her musical career as a pianist, graduating from the Tallinn Conservatory before training as conductor at the Estonian Academy of Music with Kuno Areng, Toomas Kapten and Roman Matsow. From 1998 to 2000 she studied at the St Petersburg State Conservatory with Ilya Musin and later with Leonid Kortchmar and Jorma Panula.
Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang is an artist of supreme musicality, impeccable refinement and poise as borne out by the many awards and accolades she has received, since she first burst on the scene as winner of the Indianapolis International Violin Competition in 2010, hot on the heels of her successes at the Seoul Violin Competition (2009) and the Sendai Violin Competition (2010). Her cycle of Beethoven Violin Sonatas with pianist Sunwook Kim, released on Accentus last season, has received outstanding reviews and been nominated for an Opus Klassik Award 2022 (Instrumentalist of the Year).
Recent and current highlights include her debut at the BBC Proms with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Ryan Bancroft performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, tours with the Munich Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic under Myung-whun Chung and Juanjo Mena respectively, and performances with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Deutschekammerphilharmonie Bremen. In 2023 she will also tour Australasia for performances with the Melbourne Symphony, Auckland Philharmonic, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and KBS Symphony Orchestra.
She made her concerto debut in Hamburg at the age of five and has since performed with orchestras including the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Belgian National Orchestra with conductors such as Chung, Xavier-Roth, Petrenko, Paavo Järvi, and Yamada.
Further afield, her performances have taken her to the USA with the Atlanta, New Jersey, Indianapolis and Santa Fe Symphony Orchestras, as well as Asia with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestras. She was selected as one of the top 100 'Most promising and influential people of Korea' in 2012 by major Korean newspaper Dong-A Times, and was awarded the Daewon Music Award (2012) for her outstanding international achievements, as well as Kumho Musician of the Year (2015).
Kang has recorded two albums for Decca: Modern Solo, featuring works including Schubert Erlkönig and Ysaÿe Sonatas, and a Brahms/Schumann album with Yeol-Eum Son. A dedicated chamber musician, she is a member of the Spectrum Concerts series at the Berlin Philharmonie and a regular visitor to festivals across Asia and Europe.
Born in Germany to a musical family, Clara-Jumi Kang took up the violin at the age of three and a year later enrolled as the youngest ever student at the Mannheim Musikhochschule. She went on to study with Zakhar Bron at the Lübeck Musikhochschule and at the age of seven was awarded a full scholarship to the Julliard School to study with Dorothy Delay. She took her Bachelor and Masters degrees at the Korean National University of Arts under Nam-Yun Kim before completing her studies at the Munich Musikhochschule with Christoph Poppen.
Intermusica represents Clara-Jumi Kang worldwide, excluding Spain, South Korea & Japan.
Since 1998, the Oxford Philharmonic has brought exciting and inspirational classical music performances to Oxford and beyond. Praised as ‘remarkable’ by The Spectator, the Orchestra prides itself on creating exceptional and unique musical experiences, bringing new and engaging interpretations to well-loved works in the classical repertoire.
In June 2022 the Oxford Philharmonic made its Carnegie Hall debut, in a concert ‘enmeshed in soul-enriching playing’ (Oberon’s Grove) of ‘world-class quality’ (Blogcritics).
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is dedicated to the highest standards of artistic excellence and musical integrity, and strives to create bold musical statements with every concert it presents. Its continual search for excellence is underpinned by the uncompromising standards of its Founder and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos and maintained by some of the finest musicians, whom ‘Papadopoulos has moulded into a stunning group’ (ConcertoNet).
The Oxford Philharmonic attracts some of the world’s greatest artists to appear in concert, including Maxim Vengerov, Angela Gheorghiu, Sir Antonio Pappano, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, Sir András Schiff, Lang Lang, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Evgeny Kissin and Sir Bryn Terfel.
In addition to its annual concert season in Oxford, touring performances across the UK, family concerts, annual Oxford Piano Festival, and Chamber Music Series, the Orchestra is proud to present a growing list of international engagements including its debut at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen in June 2019, US debut at Carnegie Hall in June 2022, Munich with pianist Martha Argerich in April 2023, and Haydn’s The Creation in September 2023 at St Thomas Church Fifth Avenue New York, joined by the Choir of Merton College.
The Oxford Philharmonic was appointed the Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford in 2002, the first relationship of its kind between an orchestra and a higher education institution.
World-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov became the Oxford Philharmonic’s first ever Artist in Residence following his remarkable debut with the Orchestra in 2013. Over an unprecedented four-season collaboration, Vengerov performed with the Orchestra across the UK, recorded the violin concertos of Brahms and Sibelius as well as Mendelssohn’s Octet. In July 2018 Vengerov appeared at Cheltenham Music Festival and Saffron Hall with the Soloists of the Oxford Philharmonic – a tight-knit group of musicians described by Jessica Duchen as ‘a line-up to match any top-notch international chamber ensemble and probably beat them on their own turf’.
In February 2023 the Orchestra celebrates its 25th anniversary in a special concert at the Barbican with Maxim Vengerov playing Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and a new commission from John Rutter.
In December 2020, the Orchestra recorded a concert in a tribute to all those working on developing a vaccine for Covid-19 at the University of Oxford, including the world premiere of John Rutter’s Joseph’s Carol, commissioned by the Orchestra for the occasion. In addition to Rutter, the Orchestra were joined in their tribute by Sir Bryn Terfel and the Choir of Merton College, Oxford. The film was presented by John Suchet, and also included a special performance by Maxim Vengerov alongside tributes from Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford Louise Richardson, and the Orchestra’s Royal Patron HRH Princess Alexandra.
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has been firmly committed to outreach work from its earliest days, with projects taking music to areas of social and economic disadvantage, including hospitals, special schools, and partnerships with Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council. In December 2021 the Orchestra’s Sub-Principal Violin Jamie Hutchinson was awarded the prestigious Salomon Prize, a joint prize between the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) and Association of British Orchestras (ABO), in recognition of the educational initiatives she spearheaded with the Orchestra’s education team during the pandemic.
As Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford, the Oxford Philharmonic frequently collaborates with the Faculty of Music in educational programmes with various tuition and performance opportunities for talented young musicians, including the Side-by-Side scheme, which provides an opportunity for young musicians to perform within the ranks of a professional orchestra.
The Oxford Philharmonic has appeared on several recordings including works by Nimrod Borenstein for Chandos, cello concertos by Shostakovich and Mats Lidström (Solo Cello of the Oxford Philharmonic), both conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, on BIS Records, A Merton Christmas with the Choir of Merton College, Haydn’s The Creation with the Choir of New College, and the Handel/Mendelssohn Acis and Galatea with Christ Church Cathedral Choir. The Orchestra’s most recent disc The Enlightened Trumpet with soloist Paul Merkelo was released on Sony Classical in September 2019.
A partnership with J & A Beare provides the Orchestra’s distinguished members with opportunities to play on Stradivari instruments, adding a new dimension to the sound of the Orchestra.
The Orchestra and its Music Director were awarded the City of Oxford’s Certificate of Honour in 2013, in recognition of their contribution to education and performance in Oxford.
