Strasbourg Début

Simon Murphy will make his début with the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra (OPS) this December.

Taking audiences on a musical road trip of 18th century European symphonic centres, Murphy will conduct a series of concerts of Mozart arias and symphonies in a programme specially created by him for the French orchestra.

Following Murphy's pioneering research and performance work on the birth of the symphony and symphony orchestra, the programme features several of his musical discoveries including the Symphony in E flat by J Schmitt a.k.a. "The Dutch Haydn". The performance opens with a newly edited symphony by Mannheim master FX Richter who preceded Pleyel as head of music at Strasbourg Cathedral which celebrates its millennium jubilee (1015 - 2015) this coming year.

German soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto appears as the programme's soloist in works by JC Bach, Cimarosa, Paisiello and Mozart. The programme concludes with Mozart's "Haffner" Symphony.

                     

Explore the programme and read Murphy's personal introduction to the concert

Listen to Murphy's recordings of early Mannheim symphonies by Richter, and Schmitt's "Hurdy Gurdy" Symphony, for PentaTone Classics

Look at a selection of Murphy's other hand-tailored guest-conducting programmes

Check out the concerts on the Strasbourg Philharmonic website

www.simonmurphyconductor.com

Tour to Hong Kong and China

June 2014 sees conductor Simon Murphy and The Hague's Baroque orchestra, The New Dutch Academy (NDA) make their second tour to Hong Kong and China together.

Performing the programme "Bach and his Dutch Contemporaries", Murphy and the NDA are touring to the area at the invitation of Hong Kong's PPHK.

            

             

The programme features music by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi as well as by Dutch Baroque composers De Fesch, Schickhardt, Van Eyck, Hacquart and Van Wassenaer. Soloists include soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto and recorder virtuoso Elisabeth Champollion. Alongside directing the programme, Murphy will also appear as soloist in Telemann's classic Viola Concerto in G.

During the tour, Murphy and the NDA will perform several evening concerts for PPHK as well as contributing to the organisation's innovative outreach programme PLAY!

As part of the tour, Murphy will return to Hong Kong's Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA) to give a series of masterclasses and orchestral workshops, and conduct the HKAPA orchestra in performances of works by Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Hummel and Schumann.

            

The June 2014 tour follows Murphy's first, 4-city tour to China in 2012 which saw the maestro conduct orchestral music by Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. During the trip, Murphy also gave a series of masterclasses and workshops at institutions including the Shenzhen Arts High School, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Hangzhou University and Beijing Central Conservatory, and curated and performed the musical programme for the official celebrations of 40 years of diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands.

www.simonmurphyconductor.com