The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has appointed Daniel Raiskin as Principal Guest Conductor in conjunction with selecting Gabriel Feltz as Chief Conductor, from the season 2017/18 respectively. The appointment of Daniel Raiskin is regarded as a major reinforcement of the BPO team. Despite their different responsibilities, Raiskin and the Chief Conductor will join efforts to upgrade the orchestra’s performance.
Born in St. Petersburg, Daniel Raiskin was the Chief Conductor of the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz (2005–2016) and of the “Artur Rubinstein” Philharmonic Orchestra in the Polish city of Lodz (2008–2015). For the past ten years, he has regularly collaborated with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, and achieved mutual respect, understanding and friendship with its’ musicians while working on an extensive repertoire with them.
“The position of the principal guest conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra is the result and affirmation of our mutual commitment to fulfilment of common objectives. As I take this duty, I feel deeply honored for officially becoming a member of the Belgrade Philharmonic family, although I have already felt like one for some time”, said conductor Raiskin about his appointment.
For the first season in the new role, Raiskin announces interesting programs with the intention to explore new territories as much as possible. He believes that an orchestra, which has evolved and progressed, also in terms of its audience, so much over the past several years, is expected to pursue bolder and more challenging programs equally as the standard repertoire and to foster the common Slavic tradition.
“I feel honored about earning the trust of the superb musicians, the skillful management and the orchestra’s audience, who already know me very well. The development strategy is the responsibility and prerogative of the Chief Conductor, but our joint goal is to take the orchestra in the same direction and join efforts, through artistic planning, to strike the right repertoire balance that the orchestra needs, which will be a breath of fresh air and incite the audience’s curiosity. The kind of repertoire that has nothing in common with routine!”
Raiskin recently directed the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra in their first joint guest appearance in Moscow, at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, for the opening of the concert season of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. The concert was a major success.
Raiskin’s engagements in the 2016-17 season also include appearances with the Winnipeg Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Russian State Symphony “Svetlanov” and Russian National orchestras, Mariinsky Orchestra, Württembergische Philharmonie, Jenaer Philharmonie, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Clasica Santa Cecilia Madrid, RTV Slovenia Symphony, NFM Symphony Wroclaw, Slovak Philharmonic, Macedonian Philharmonic, Arnhem Philharmonic (Het Gelders Orkest), National Symphony Lithuania, Malaga Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic Durban and Iceland Symphony orchestras.
Among the major soloists with whom Daniel Raiskin has appeared are Martin Fröst, Alban Gerhardt, Vadim Gluzman, Natalia Gutman, Janine Jansen, Kari Kriikku, Lang Lang, Francois Leleux, Alexei Lubimov, Mischa Maisky, Midori, Shlomo Mintz, Daniel Müller-Schott, Gerhard Oppitz, Steven Osborne, Enrico Pace, Ivo Pogorelich, Julian Rachlin, Vadim Repin, Benjamin Schmid, Dmitri Sitkovetsky, Julian Steckel and Alexei Volodin.
His recent recordings include a cycle with Brahms symphonies for the label TwoPianists and a recording of Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 with the label AVI Music, both to great critical acclaim. His recording of cello concertos by Korngold, Bloch and Goldschmidt with Julian Steckel released by AVI Music received an Echo Klassik Award in 2012. The recording of Mahler’s 3rd Symphony (AVI) was recently nominated for the Prize of German Music Critics.
