Lisbon's Gulbenkian Orchestra has announced that Paul McCreesh is to become its new principal conductor and artisitc advisor from July 2013. He will succeed Lawrence Foster, whose 11-year tenure comes to an end that month.
During a four-year contract, McCreesh will work to improve the orchestra’s profile, performing a range of Classical, Romantic and 20th-century works whilst also engaging in educational projects, recordings and tours.
In the 2012/13 season, McCreesh will conduct four concerts including music by Mozart, Stravinsky, Schubert, Strauss and Elgar, having previously conducted the orchestra and chorus in a much acclaimed performance of Haydn’s oratorio The Seasons in 2011.
'I am both thrilled and honoured to be appointed to lead this fine orchestra,' says McCreesh about his new post. 'In our performances last season I very much enjoyed the warmth, skill and the imagination of the orchestra's musicians, alongside the great energy of the Gulbenkian's acclaimed choir. I look forward to an exciting and rewarding artistic collaboration over the next years.’
McCreesh initially built his reputation as founder of the Gabrieli Consort and Players which he established in 1982 and with whom he won a BBC Music Magazine Award this year, but is now equally well-known for his work with modern-instrument orchestras, choirs and opera houses across the globe.
Gareth Thomas
