The programme, which will be performed at the Barbican Centre in ‎London, features music by Czech composers Antonín Dvořák ‎and Leoš Janáček. The London Symphony Chorus ‎‎(directed by Simon Halsey, who is also director of Orfeó Català), ‎accompanied by vocal soloists Lucie Vagenknechtová, Lucie ‎Hilscherová, Aleš Briscein and Jan Martiník, ‎will perform Dvořák’s symphonic poem The Golden Spinning Wheel and ‎Janáček’s The Ballad of Blaník and his glorious Glagolitic Mass.‎



‎Kazushi Ono‎
Conductor ‎

Kazushi Ono’s calm and unhurried interpretive style conveys openness and receptiveness, ‎and at the same allows him to consolidate his absolute mastery of the music. He transmits ‎complex messages with fluid, expressive gestures and a wisdom nurtured by his ‎inexhaustible passion for making and exploring music with others. After work, he usually ‎relaxes by playing passages from the evening’s programme on the piano. In short, music has ‎been a driving force in his life since childhood.‎

As musical director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and the Barcelona ‎Symphony Orchestra, Kazushi Ono, who is also artistic director of the New National Theatre, ‎Tokyo, enjoys a privileged position that allows him to commission several new works and ‎projects, which he has done with great success. These undertakings include the orchestral hit ‎‎Hibiki, by Mark-Anthony Turnage, which premiered at Suntory Hall prior to being ‎performed at the BBC Proms, and the new musical delight from Japanese composer Akira ‎Nishimura, the opera Asters. As a member of the Olympic Games 2020 cultural ‎committee, Kazushi Ono proposed a staging of Turandot in summer 2019, with ‎the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra in the pit and Alex Ollé conducting. This is the first ‎performance in a two-year international opera project led by Kazushi Ono and developed by ‎the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and the New National Theatre, Tokyo, that will showcase Japanese ‎cultural life on the eve of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.‎
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Kazushi Ono’s musical flexibility means that he is in constant demand around the world. His ‎fame, consolidated in the opera world, has led him to conduct orchestras such as the Hallé ‎Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio ‎France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Houston Symphony Orchestra, where his ‎acclaimed performance “translated into a first-rate concert loaded with strong emotions, ‎fragile beauty and panoramic grandeur.” His recent operatic works include Jeanne ‎d’Arc au bûcher (Joan of Arc at the Stake) —composed by Honegger and staged by ‎Castellucci—, Ono’s last production as principal conductor of the Lyon National Opera ‎Orchestra, which will be revived this season at La Monnaie; Hermann’s acclaimed work ‎‎Der Mieter (The Tenant), which premiered at the Oper Frankfurt, and The ‎Fiery Angel, by Prokofiev, performed in Warsaw and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival ‎‎(directed by Treliński).‎

From 2008 al 2017, Kazushi Ono was principal conductor of the Lyon National Opera Orchestra, ‎during which time he gained international acclaim with iconic performances of works such as ‎‎The Gambler, by Prokofiev; Lulu, by Berg, and Parsifal, ‎by Wagner. Prior to his work in Lyon, Kazushi Ono was musical director of La Monnaie Royal ‎Theatre for six highly successful seasons, taking over from Antonio Pappano. Following his ‎tenure as principal conductor with the Lyon National Opera Orchestra, he was honoured with ‎the distinction Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of ‎Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen, a further honorary title ‎to add to the prestigious Asahi Prize, which he was awarded in January 2015 for his ‎contribution to Japanese society. This prize recognises individuals who have contributed ‎greatly to the development and progress of Japanese society and culture.‎