Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare's profound musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic presence on the podium has elevated him as one of the most sought after young conductors, working regularly with the world's leading orchestras.

Highlights of the 2017-18 season will include return visits to the Vienna Philharmonic for concerts at the Vienna Konzerthaus and on tour with Elina Garanca, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Czech Philharmonic and the Orchestre de le Suisse Romande, plus debuts with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Minnesota Orchestra and his Berlin subscription debut with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. He will also commence a Bruckner symphony cycle with the Aalborg Symfoniorkester in Denmark.

In May 2012, Payare was awarded first prize at the Malko International Conducting Competition, and in July 2012, he was personally invited by his mentor, the late Lorin Maazel, to conduct at his Castleton Festival in Virginia. This led to a close association and, in July 2015, he was honoured to accept the position of Principal Conductor of the Castleton Festival. In the summer of 2015, he conducted performances of Gounod 'Romeo and Juliette' and a performance of Beethoven Symphony No 9 in memory of Lorin Maazel.

Born in 1980 and a graduate of the celebrated El Sistema in Venezuela, Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. He has conducted all the major orchestras in Venezuela, including the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. Having also served as Principal Horn of the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, he took part in many prestigious tours and recordings with conductors including Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle and Lorin Maazel.

Yulianna Avdeeva is the First-Prize winner of the 2010 International Chopin Piano Competition, which launched her to international fame for “consistently [leading] the field over a gruellingly intense three-week period, in terms of sheer passion and musicianship, not to mention technical security,” and for her “spontaneous and volatile” performances, “full of depth and colour” (The Telegraph).

A pianist of fiery temperament and virtuosity, Avdeeva plays with power, conviction, and sensibility, having won over audiences all over the world. “Her pacing is born of intelligent feeling and clarity of thought, and her ability to finesse Chopin’s inner voices puts many to shame” (The Guardian).

In the fall of 2023 Avdeeva launched a new project titled #YuliannasMusicalDialogues — an engaging online initiative that provides an open space for her followers and all aficionados of the art of the piano to share their passion for music. Through regular informal social media posts, Avdeeva invites followers to choose the composer of the month, opening up an online conversation about the selected composer’s life and work.

 

Avdeeva’s recordings of the Chopin concertos with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Frans Brüggen (2013), her three solo albums featuring works by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, and Prokofiev (2014, 2016, 2017), and her collaboration with Gidon Kremer in Weinberg’s chamber music (2017 and 2019) comprise a formidable record of her art, topped off by a Deutsche Grammophon (2019) solo recording as part of a milestone collection dedicated to Chopin Competition Gold Medalists.