Conductor: Teodor Currentzis
Teodor Currentzis is the chief conductor of the Southwest Germany Radio Symphony Orchestra, the founder of the "Music Forever Orchestra" and "Music Forever Chorus", and the newest international orchestra "Utopia", which has appeared in many top concert halls including the Vienna Concert Hall and Berlin Philharmonic Hall. "He is also the conductor of the Salzburg Festival, where he has performed at the Vienna Concertgebouw and the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, among other top concert halls. He is also a regular at the Salzburg Festival, debuting with "Ditto's Mercy" and "Requiem" in 2017, five sold-out concerts of Beethoven's complete symphonies in 2018, and the festival's breakout hits in 2019 with "Idomeneus" and in 2021 with "Don Giovanni".

Keywords such as "rebel," "ghost conductor," "genius conductor," and "box office hit" are commonly used to describe this "70-year-old" conductor. "70 years later" conductor is often described. Whether it's his musical style or the impact of the international political turmoil that has characterized the last year, Theodor Kulenchis is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after conductors in the classical music world today.

©Alexandra Muraveva

His evil image of people with studs and leather pants, his band's unique retro standing performance style, and his mind-blowing music style have always aroused heated discussions in the classical circle, and have made every performance almost hard to get a ticket.

Born in Greece, Koulencis moved to Russia in the 1990s. He began piano lessons at age 4, violin and singing at age 7, and composition studies with George Hadjinikos at age 15. He came to Russia in 1994 to continue his musical studies with legendary professor Ilya Musin at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music. 2004 saw the arrival of dozens of outstanding musicians from the major conservatories throughout Russia and other In 2004, he gathered dozens of talented musicians from major conservatories throughout Russia and other European countries and founded MusicAeterna in Novosibirsk, later forming the MusicAeterna Chorus. He wanted to break with performance traditions, to go beyond the repertoire itself, and to explore the score in a way that no other orchestra had ever done before. Until 2010 he was the principal conductor of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater.

©Denis Konovalov

The 2017 Salzburg Festival is not the first time that Kulencis and his orchestra have "swept" the European music scene. Back in February 2014, the orchestra made its debut at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall during a European tour, performing works by Purcell and Handel in a new and passionate way that was a great success, and which subsequently took the orchestra on a whirlwind tour to Athens, Paris and Lisbon. The tour was hailed by critics as "as epoch-making as that of Gagilev, the founder of the Ballets Russes, in the West".

In 2022, Kulenchis launches his new international music label, Utopia, with 116 musicians from 30 countries, including many leading orchestras. The group will rely on ticket sales and charitable donations to sustain its operations. Kulenchis hopes that Utopia will shake up the traditional orchestra model and change the traditional fixtures of classical music. "After its first concert last October, Utopia has appeared at the Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall, the Hamburg Konzerthaus, the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Berlin Philharmonic Hall.

©Alexandra Muravyeva

In 2004, Kulenchis founded the Music Eternity Ensemble.Since 2011, Kulenchis has brought his Music Eternity Ensemble to the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater, where he has served as Music Director. During his tenure, he successfully rearranged a range of traditional Russian repertoire, and he and his ensemble introduced the public to medieval music, Baroque opera, and some of the contemporary avant-garde works. 2019 saw Kulenchis and Music Forever move to St. Petersburg, where he continues to create his unique music with the creative residency of Dom Radio. His distinctive music-making.

For several years now, Kurencis and Music Forever have been making their mark on the world stage with appearances at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Paris Philharmonic Hall, the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, the La Scala Opera House in Milan, the National Concert Hall in Madrid and many others. In addition, they are regulars at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. debuting in 2017 with the operatic works Ditto's Mercy and Mozart's Requiem, five sold-out concerts of Beethoven's complete symphonies in 2018, and a major highlight of the festival with the 2019 opera Idomeneus and the 2021 opera Don Giovanni.

In 2018, Kurencis and the Music Eternal Orchestra appeared at the UK Proms, and in early 2019 they made their concert debut in Japan, completing their debut at The Shed Arts Center in New York at the end of the year.

Signed to Sony Classical, one of the three major record labels, Kulenchis and the Music Eternal Orchestra have made highly acclaimed recordings of works by Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky, winning a host of international awards including the ECHO Klassik, Edison Klassiek, the Japan Recording Academy Award, and the BBC Music Magazine Opera Award. Kulenchis himself has been awarded the Golden Mask, the highest prize in Russian theater, nine times.

In October 2023, this star conductor, who has been making waves in the classical world, will make his first visit to China with the Music Eternal Orchestra.

©Alexandra Muravyeva