musicAeterna

Biography

MusicAeterna was founded in 2004 in Novosibirsk by Teodor Currentzis and was the resident orchestra at Perm Opera from 2011 till 2019. In September 2019, musicAeterna embarked on the next phase of its existence as an independent, privately financed ensemble. The ensemble chose Saint Petersburg as their main place of residence.

The orchestra has performed with Currentzis in Salzburg, Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Lucerne, London, Madrid, Hamburg, Berlin, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Perm, Athens, and other cities. The touring geography of musicAeterna expanded greatly in 2019. The orchestra had their first visit to Japan where they presented two programmes with Tchaikovsky’s pieces. In 2019, musicAeterna made its US debut with Verdi’s Requiem at The Shed, New York, where it will make its return in 2020 with a new programme.

MusicAeterna is regularly invited to perform at leading international festivals: Salzburg festival (Austria), the RUHRtriennale (Germany), Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), the Klara Festival (Brussels), Aix-en-Provence Festival (France), the Golden Mask Festival (Moscow), and the Diaghilev festival (Perm).

MusicAeterna’s debut at the Salzburg festival took place in 2017 with Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, directed by Peter Sellars. Following the complete Beethoven cycle in 2018, the orchestra will return to the festival in 2020 and 2021.

The repertoire of the orchestra embraces different styles and historical periods, from baroque to world premieres of contemporary works commissioned by Teodor Currentzis.

MusicAeterna has an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical. The orchestra’s recordings of works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Rameau, and Stravinsky have received much positive critical reception. Releases since 2012 include: Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (released in February 2014, received the German Record Critics’ Award ‘Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik’ and the ECHO Klassik “Best record of the year”), Cosi fan tutte (released also in 2014, named Best record of the year by Opernwelt in 2015) and Don Giovanni. The orchestra has also recorded Rameau: The Sound of Light (2014), Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (2015, ECHO Klassik award in 2016 for the Best record of the year: symphonic music XX—XXI»), Les Noces (2016), Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (soloist — Patricia Kopatchinskaja, 2016) and Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathetique’, (2017), which was awarded a Diapason d’Or Arte.