April 01, 2023
Karina continues Janáček cycle with “Cunning Little Vixen” in the Concertgebouw
Once a year Karina Canellakis and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest go deep into the world of Janáček's operas: After last year's "Kát'a Kabanová" they are bringing "The Cunning Little Vixen" to the stage of the Concertgebouw this year joined by the Netherlands Radio Choir, a stellar cast of singers and the Netherlands Children's Choir.
March 28, 2023
Karina releases Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 on Apple Music Classical
Apple's new app Apple Music Classical launched today on 28 March, providing a new place for classical music audiences all over the world to listen to their favorite music.
Karina's new recording of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Alice Sara Ott and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic is also released today and currently exclusively available on Apple Music Classical.
March 16, 2023
Karina to release first album with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic
Pentatone is proud to announce a long-term, multi-album partnership with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (RFO) and its Chief Conductor, Karina Canellakis. This exclusive collaboration kicks off with a recording of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, to be released on 28 April 2023.
“I am thrilled to release my first recording together with the brilliant Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Bartók’s atmospheric, often witty and riveting Concerto for Orchestra as well as his magnificent Four Orchestral Pieces are a colorful and virtuosic showcase for the orchestra and I am excited to present these works on our first recording of a long-term partnership with Pentatone."
March 15, 2023
Karina conducts London Philharmonic’s German tour under great critical acclaim
Tonight Karina conducts the London Philharmonic at Royal Festival Hall after returning from a tour through Germany's most esteemed concert halls - Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne among others - which was received by enthusiastic audiences and met with great critical acclaim. The program consisting of pieces by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev was joined by soloists Daniil Trifonov, Sol Gabetta and Vadym Kholodenko.
"It has been a long time since a concert touched and overwhelmed us as much as this one." - Rheinische Post
"[T]he New York conductor Karina Canellakis, who puts accuracy above all else, whose precise gestural language brings the entire orchestra into line and makes everything, including the solo part, seem as if made from one piece." - Süddeutsche Zeitung
"At the Kölner Philharmonie on Sunday, she conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra with economical clarity and precision that allowed the contrasting music to speak for itself." - Bachtrack
"It has been a long time since a concert touched and overwhelmed us as much as this one." - Rheinische Post
"[T]he New York conductor Karina Canellakis, who puts accuracy above all else, whose precise gestural language brings the entire orchestra into line and makes everything, including the solo part, seem as if made from one piece." - Süddeutsche Zeitung
"At the Kölner Philharmonie on Sunday, she conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra with economical clarity and precision that allowed the contrasting music to speak for itself." - Bachtrack
November 15, 2022
Dutch Premiere of Widmann’s monumental “Arche”
The Dutch premiere of Jörg Widmann's monumental piece "Arche" was met with standing ovations by the Concertgebouw audience after Saturday's matinee performance. With this oratorio Widman wrote a gigantic piece, comprising around three hundred musicians on the Concertgebouw stage: The Radio Filharmonisch Orkest was joined by soprano and baritone soloists, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Hongaars Nationaal Koor, the Nationaal Kinderkoor and the Nationaal Jongenskoor conducted by Karina Canellakis.
August 10, 2022
Season finale with Wagner’s “Siegfried” at Bregenz Festival
A final highlight of Karina's 2021/22 season was her return to the Bregenz Festival where she led Act III of Wagner's "Siegfried" with the Vienna Symphony and a stellar cast of singers Ricarda Merbeth, Nadine Weissmann, Andreas Schager and Greer Grimsley. The new Vorarlberger Tageszeitung wrote about the concert: "The Vienna Symphony with their instrumental groups enjoyed this excursion into the Wagner repertoire with great energy, opulence and splendor of sound and were inspired by Canellakis’ clear conducting."
July 25, 2022
Highly praised return to Tanglewood
After last year's debut Karina returned to Tanglewood in July to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The program: Wagner's Prelude to Lohengrin, Chopin's piano concerto no. 2 with soloist Emanuel Ax and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances. The Boston Globe hailed: "She is a gifted communicator with a well-honed yet intense podium technique and a knack for harnessing the music’s structural architecture toward larger expressive ends." (Find the link to the full review under "Press") She looks forward to returning to the Boston Symphony in January 2023.
May 06, 2022
Highlights of the Upcoming 2022-23 Season
For Karina the 2022-23 season starts with a return to the BBC Proms, which will include a world premiere by Betsy Jolas. She is looking forward to her debuts with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony. In the new season she also returns to the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Orchestre de Paris as well as the Dallas and Boston Symphonies. She continues to present exciting modern pieces as well as well-known masterpieces at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, where she holds the title of Chief Conductor. After the great success of "Kat'a Kabánova" she brings another Janácek opera, "The Cunning Little Vixen", to the Concertgebouw in April 2023. As Principal Guest Karina also returns to the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and tours some of Europe's most renowned concert halls with the London Philharmonic.
March 31, 2022
Debut with hr-Sinfonieorchester in Frankfurt
Karina makes her debut with the hr-Sinfonieorchester on March 31 with a program featuring Stravinsky's Chant funèbre, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with soloist Lars Vogt and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. The concert on April 1 will be streamed live on Karina's Facebook channel and on the orchestra's website.
September 22, 2021
Karina Canellakis continues as Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra until 2027
The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Karina Canellakis are extending their successful collaboration.
Canellakis, who has been Chief Conductor since September 2019, will continue with the RFO until the end of July 2027.
After two successful concert seasons together, in which beautiful orchestral productions, new concert formats and special corona projects took place, both Canellakis and the orchestra wish to continue their collaboration. With this contract extension, Karina Canellakis and the orchestra confirm their special bond, which was recognizable from their very first rehearsal together.
“I have had a special musical bond with this orchestra all the way back from our very first rehearsal together in 2018. I am so thrilled to continue this collaboration with the RFO for another four years, and am extremely proud of how beautifully the orchestra has been playing and how they have managed to continue to make music passionately despite the enormous challenges we have faced in the past 18 months due to the pandemic. I look forward to many more years together, again with full audiences and a broad scope of rich and exciting repertoire.”