Teodor Currentzis
Biography
Born in Athens in 1972, Teodor Currentzis moved to St. Petersburg in 1994 to study conducting with legendary Russian teacher Ilya Musin, who has, among others, also trained Valery Gergiev and Semyon Bychkov. While music director of the Novosibirsk Opera from 2004, Currentzis founded MusicAeterna. After making headlines with various productions, including the controversial so-called “Chechnya Aida” directed by Dmitry Tcherniakov, Currentzis soon gained recognition beyond the Russian scene.
In 2011, when invited to assume the post of Artistic Director at Perm’s opera house, Currentzis brought the orchestra and choir with him. The MusicAeterna orchestra and choir emphatically embrace a non-establishment attitude, constantly questioning themselves and striving for perfection. As important as their musical prowess (many members are laureates of international competitions) is their willingness to undergo exceptional rigors to reach their shared artistic goals.
In 2019, musicAeterna embarked on a new phase of its development as a privately sponsored independent institution and moved to St. Petersburg, where its headquarters are now located.
Current album
Mozart: Da Ponte Cycle
Artists Teodor CurrentzisRelease Date: 10/06/2017
Teodor Currentzis and his orchestra and choir MusicAeterna launched their outstanding Mozart/Da Ponte opera series in 2014 with the release of Le nozze di Figaro, culminating in the release of Don Giovanni at the end in 2016. While these recordings naturally proved divisive, the overwhelming critical response hailed them as: “Truly a benchmark recording” (El Mundo on Figaro); “The field of Figaro recordings is crowded, but Currentzis’s deserves a special space” (Financial Times); “Wonders keep tumbling out” (The Times on Così fan tutte); “Mozart has never been more erotic. An opera recording that just revels in pain and lust” (Die Zeit on Così fan tutte); “His conception of these works is so grand, so life-affirming and life-changing, so far beyond anything that has come before it, that it has, for me, redefined music itself. This is classical music breaking the four-minute mile” (The Guardian).
