Christoph Spering, conductor

Christoph Spering belongs to a new generation of young conductors who focussing not only on the practical but also the musicological aspects of interpretation. He is chiefly committed to elaborating an approach and an interpretation of 18th & 19th century music; putting an emphasise on the search for musical originality and seeking the composer's intentions beyond the mere written notes. Following his debut in 1987 as the youngest conductor at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall, Spering received numerous invitations for international engagements. Since that time Christoph Spering has explored a vast repertoire with utmost dedication to historical authenticity.

Under the direction of Spering, the ensemble Das Neue Orchester is the first German ensemble to apply the results of historic performance practice including even the Romantic period. The orchestra devotes itself not only to the works of Bach, Mozart, Schubert and Mendelssohn, but also to unknown or rediscovered repertoires. Together with the Chorus Musicus Köln, also founded by Spering, the orchestra has performed long-forgotten oratorios and operas, such as Schumann’s Der Rose Pilgerfahrt, Salieri’s La passione, Cartellieri’s Christmas Oratorio and Kalliwoda’s Symphonies. Internationally, they have performed current concert repertoire, such as, for example, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, in Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's 1829 and 1841 versions.

Christoph Spering’s collaboration with the innovative French record label "Opus 111", and, since 2003, with CAPRICCIO and cpo has led to far more than 20 CD releases, many of them winning important international prizes, such as the Diapason d’Or. The newest release in June 2006 includes the world premiere recording of Kalliwoda’s symphony no. 5.

Christoph Spering`s conduction and recording repertoire includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Cherubini, Chopin, Gluck, Fauré, Händel, Haydn, Kalliwoda, Le Sueur, Mendelssohn, Myslivecek, Romberg, Rossini, Salieri and Schumann.
Amongst the most eminent musical events and theatres having seen Christoph Spering as a conductor appear the Potsdam Musikfestspiele, the Dresden Musikfestspiele, the Theater in Dortmund, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Opéra Municipal in Lille, the Köln Philharmonic, the Beaune Festival, the Arsenal Auditorium in Metz, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona and the Teatro Bellini in Catania. His operatic performances, whether fully staged, in concert or recorded for CD- release, include Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Athalia, Haydn's La vera costanza, Benda's Romeo und Julia, Schubert's Die Verschworenen, Paisiello's Don Chisciotte, Gluck's La rencontre imprévue and Orfeo ed Euridice (the latter in both the Italian and French versions), Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Rossini's L'occasione fa il ladro and Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Schumann's Manfred.

Apart from his own Das Neue Orchester, Christoph Spering has conducted numerous orchestras, including the Gürzenich Philharmonic Orchestra in Köln, the Halle City Symphony Orchestra, the Brandenburg Philharmonic in Potsdam, the National Symphony Orchestra of Lille, the Royal Flemish Antwerpen, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Granada, the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Oslo as well as the orchestras of the opera houses in Rostock, Kiel, Regensburg, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Wuppertal, Potsdam, Tel Aviv and Catania.

Together with his ensembles Spering appears in 2006 in the opening of the prestigious Schwetzingen Festival performing Kraus’ opera Proserpina. In the newly opened Philharmonic hall in Essen, Spering and his orchestra have recently started the first Beethoven series on period instruments in Germany. The complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos will be performed within five years.

August 2006

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