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Press Releases
³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ilan Volkov, Chief Conductor
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"It's a special conductor who can frame one concert with Sibelius and Debussy and devote most of another to Mahler, while making those three utterly different musical worlds from the beginning of the last century seem equally natural." – The Guardian, 3 August 2007
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In January 2003, a little-known young Israeli conductor, Ilan Volkov, was appointed Chief Conductor of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Just 26-years-old at the time of his appointment, Volkov was the youngest person to hold such a position within a ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ orchestra.
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In September 2009, following nearly seven years with the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO, Ilan Volkov will step down in order to devote more time to his freelance commitments both in the UK and abroad.
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Over the next two years he will lead a diverse and creative programme commencing with the 2007/8 Glasgow season.
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Highlights include the five-concert mini-series The Romantic, The Revolutionary and The Rebel featuring music by Brahms, Bartók and Ligeti, the Scottish Premiere of Unsuk Chin's Snags And Snarls and the first IRCAM Summer Academy to be held in the UK.
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Ilan will end the season with an open weekend at City Halls – three days of free music-making, featuring violinist Christian Tetzlaff.
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In 2008/9, Ilan will conduct in a six-concert series devoted to the music of Stravinsky and Rachmaninov, following which he and the orchestra will record a number of works by Stravinsky for future release on CD. In addition to regular concerts in Glasgow, Perth and Aberdeen, Ilan and the orchestra will tour Holland and South America.
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Looking at his tenure as Chief Conductor, Ilan Volkov said: "Being chief conductor of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO is an amazing adventure. Musically, their flexibility and sheer professionalism is always combined with good spirits and a wonderful atmosphere, which are both inspiring and invaluable to me.
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"There is a strong sense of community with this orchestra that they have always shared with me, and I am extremely excited about the next two years, when we have yet more challenges to explore together."
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Volkov's versatility across all musical genres has proved to be a real asset to the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO, whose principal objective is to provide audiences throughout Scotland with world-class performances of core repertoire, whilst championing works by new composers.
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Acknowledged particularly for his interpretation of contemporary repertoire, Volkov's collaboration with ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO's composer-in-association, Jonathan Harvey, is one of the highlights of his tenure.
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Commenting on Volkov's creativity and resourcefulness, Gavin Reid, Director of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO, said:
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"Ilan Volkov is a musician of profound artistry and musical insight and his contribution to our cultural life, particularly over the last four years, has been enormous. He has brought intellect, emotion and energy to all his performances with the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO and his partnership with the orchestra is inspiring. Ìý
"His interpretations in particular of the music of Stravinsky, Mahler, Debussy, Beethoven, Schumann and Bartok will remain etched in our minds for years to come. We look forward to his forthcoming performances over the next two seasons enormously."
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"Volkov and the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish did him [Harvey] proud, before delivering one of the finest Mahler performances I have ever heard. Volkov is the antithesis of the modern Mahler conductor: he sees no need to exaggerate or self-dramatise, because he understands that the exaggeration is already in the music. In the Ninth Symphony all Mahler's expressive marks were there in full, the tempo fluctuations and climactic outbursts cradled and contoured by Volkov's joined-up approach. When Volkov gets round to conducting Mahler in London, he will surely put the impostors to shame."
– The Financial Times, 19 March 2007
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