Born in Maastricht/Netherlands, Hubert Soudant is one of the leading conductors of his generation. He began his musical studies in his home town, concentrating mainly on French horn and orchestral conducting. He went on to gain awards in many international competitions, including Besançon (1969), the Karajan Conducting Prize in Berlin (1971) and the Cantelli Competition in Milan (1973).
He has conducted many European orchestras of international repute in both concert and opera performances; these include the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Oslo, Philharmonic, Stockholm Philharmonic, the Orchestra della Scala (with whom he performed the Italian premiere of the “Turangalîla” Symphony in the presence of its composer Olivier Messiaen), Orchestra dalla RAI di Turino and other leading Italian and Japanese orchestras. He is a regular guest at international festivals, such as the Salzburg Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Spoleto Festival, Ravenna Festival, Vienna Festival and the Bruckner Festival in Linz.His successful opera début at the Teatro Regio di Parma in 1985 brought him invitations to conduct in Paris at the Opéra de la Bastille and in all leading opera houses in Italy, including La Fenice/Venice, Bologna and Trieste. Recently (season 05/06) he conducted the famous revival of Zeffirelli’s Don Giovanni at the Rome Operahouse.From 1981 to 1983 Soudant was music director of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique of Radio France in Paris, from 1983 to 1988 chief conductor of the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra in the Netherlands and principal conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 1988 he was appointed director of the Orchestra Arturo Toscanini in Parma. In September 1994 Hubert Soudant was appointed music director of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and chief conductor of the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra. His constant and successful work on the Mozart repertoire, the development of a French repertoire and the consistent fostering of works by Bruckner are particularly important areas of his work with the Mozarteum Orchestra, which is reflected in various CD recordings. Hubert Soudant, together with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, is a frequent guest in the USA, Japan and at numerous renowned concert houses in Europe.
In 1999 he became principal guest conductor, since September 2004 he is musical director of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Besides permanent commitments, Hubert Soudant gives guest performances in Europe, Japan and the USA.
Recent engagements included the revival of Aix-en-Provence Festival's production of L'Italiana in Algieri at Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg (May/June 2008).
Cv-update: season 2008/2009 |
