Gérard Korsten is in demand as a guest conductor for appearances with theatres and orchestras in Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa. He has served as Principal Conductor of the London Mozart Players, the South African State Theatre in Pretoria and the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in Sweden.
From 1999 to 2005 he was Music Director of the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in Sardinia. After 13 years as Principal Conductor of Austria’s Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg, Gérard Korsten was awarded Conductor Laureate in summer 2018.
Videos
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Symphony No. 4 „Italian”
Pannon Philharmonic
Gérard Korsten (conductor)
Excerpt (21/12/2016)
Adams: Absolute Jest
Apollon Musagète Quartet
Gérard Korsten (conductor)
Symphony Orchestra Vorarlberg
Excerpt (promotion video)
Mozart: “Le nozze di Figaro” Ouverture
Gérard Korsten (conductor)
Filarmonica della Scala Orchestra
Live Teatro alla Scala (2006)
Bruckner: Sinfonie Nr. 7 in E-Dur
Gérard Korsten (conductor)
Symphony Orchestra Vorarlberg
Excerpt
Next Concerts
2024-10-19 | 19:30 | Feldkirch | Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra |
2024-10-20 | 17:00 | Bregenz | Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra |
Discography
Discography as PDF file
![]() | Dünser: Violin Concerto- Radek-Symphony Düsner: Concerto for violin and orchestra; Radek-Symphony Benjamin Schmid (violin) Gérard Korsten (conductor) Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg CD: VMS (2017) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 – Symphonic Variations Dvořák: Symphony No.9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178; Symphonic Variations, Op. 78, B. 70 Gérard Korsten (conductor) Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg CD: VMS (2016) buy at Amazon Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Joachim Nikolas Eggert: Symphonies No. 2 & 4 Eggert: Symphony No. 2 in G minor; Symphony No. 4 in C minor Gérard Korsten (conductor) Gävle Symphonie Orchester Cd: Naxos (2016) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Joachim Nikolas Eggert: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3, and Incidental Music to Svante Sture Eggert: Symphonies No. 1 & No. 3 Gérard Korsten (conductor) Gävle Symphony Orchestra Cd: Naxos (2015) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro Diana Damrau, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Pietro Spagnoli, Marcella Orsatti Talamanca, Monica Bacelli and others Gérard Korsten (conductor) Chorus Teatro alla Scala OrchestraTeatro alla Scala DVD: Arthaus (2015) Buy at jpc |
![]() | SWR Young Classix – Patsch lernt Zaubern Strawinsky: Pulcinella Suite Gérard Korsten (conductor) SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg CD: Helbling (2013) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg – Sternstunden 1996-2010 Kirill Petrenko, David Wroe, Christoph Eberle, Dietfried Bernet, Thomas Kalb and Manfred Honeck Gérard Korsten (conductor) Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg Live Recording: VMS (2012) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Night Moves Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht Haydn: Symphony No. 8 & other works Gérard Korsten (conductor) Irish Chamber Orchestra Cd: Artscouncil (2011) |
![]() | Mieczyslaw Weinberg Weinberg: Weinberg: Symphony No. 6, Op 79 & Sinfonietta No. 1, Op. 41 Gérard Korsten (conductor) Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg Cd: Neos (2010) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Strawinsky Mozart Rossini Strawinsky: Danses concertantes Strawinsky: Danses concertantes Mozart: Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter” Rossini: La scala di seta – overture Gérard Korsten (conductor) Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen Live Recording Cd: IPPNW (2010) Buy at jpc |
![]() | Franz Lehár – La Veuve Joyeuse Véronique Gens, Ivan Ludlow, Gordon Gietz, Magali Léger, François Le Roux and others Gérard Korsten (conductor) Chor Opéra de Lyon Orchester Opéra de Lyon DVD: Virgin Classics (2009) buy at Amazon |
![]() | Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor Vladimir Stoyanov, Mariella Devia and Giuseppe Sabbatini Gérard Korsten (conductor) Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Orchestra Cd: Dynamic (2004) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Schubert: Alfonso and Estrella Eva Mei, Rainer Trost, Alfred Muff, Markus Werba, Jochen Schmeckenbecher and others Gérard Korsten (conductor) Choir Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Orchestra Teatro Lirico di Cagliari CD/DVD: Dynamic (2004) buy at Amazon Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Carl M. von Weber: Euryanthe Elena Prokina, Jolana Fogasova, Yikun Chung, Andreas Scheibner, Rosanna Savoia and others Gérard Korsten (conductor) Choir Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Orchestra Cd: Dynamic (2003) Buy at jpc Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Donizetti: Don Pasquale Alessandro Corbelli, Antonino Siragusa, Eva Mei, Roberto de Candia and others Gérard Korsten (conductor) Choir Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Orchestra CD/DVD: Arthaus (2002) Buy at jpc |
![]() | Strauss: Die ägyptische Helena Gérard Korsten (conductor) Choir Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Teatro Lirico di Cagliari Orchestra Live Cd: Dynamic (2001) buy at Amazon Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Adolf Fredrik Lindblad: Symphonies No. 1 & No. 2 Gérard Korsten (conductor) Uppsala Chamber Orchestra Cd: Naxos (1999) Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Bernhard Henrik Crusell: Clarinet Concertos Per Billman (clarinet) Gérard Korsten (conductor) Uppsala Chamber Orchestra Cd: Naxos (1999) Buy at eBay Stream on Spotify |
![]() | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concertos No. 9 & No. 27 Nicola Frisardi (piano) Gérard Korsten (conductor) Mozarteum Orchestra Cd: Chesky (1995) buy at Amazon |
Photo Gallery
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Biography
From 1999 to 2005 he was Music Director of the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in Sardinia. After studies with Ivan Galamian at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia he went to Salzburg, where he trained with Sándor Végh, becoming concertmaster and then Assistant Music Director of Camerata Salzburg, of which Végh was Principal Conductor. In 1987 Korsten joined the Chamber Orchestra of Europe as its concertmaster; over his nine years with the ensemble he built close working relationships with such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Heinz Holliger.
Gérard Korsten has conducted over 100 orchestras in 24 countries with orchestras such as the Adelaide Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Orchestre National de Lyon, Scottish and Swedish Chamber Orchestras, as well as the SWR Sinfonieorchester Freiburg.
Gérard Korsten’s operatic appearances to date have included: Teatro alla Scala, Milan (Le nozze di Figaro); Opéra National de Lyon (Ariadne auf Naxos, Idomeneo, La traviata, Siegfried, La Veuve joyeuse and Henze’s L’Upupa); Bregenz Festival (Simon Laks’ L’Hirondelle inattendue, Die Zauberflöte, Le Rossignol, Der Schauspieldirektor); Deutsche Oper Berlin (La traviata); English National Opera (Aida); Glyndebourne Festival (Così fan tutte, Albert Herring); Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Così fan tutte); Netherlands Opera (Così fan tutte); New National Theatre, Tokyo (Tosca); Royal Opera Stockholm (Don Giovanni) and Hungarian State Opera (Don Pasquale). At the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, he did not only conduct the Italian premieres of Richard Strauss’ Die ägyptische Helena, Weber’s Euryanthe, Delius’ A Village Romeo and Juliet and Schubert’s Alfonso und Estrella, but also repertoire classics such as Aida, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte, Don Pasquale, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Tosca, Un ballo in maschera and more recently Don Giovanni.
He has served as Principal Conductor of the London Mozart Players, the South African State Theatre in Pretoria and the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in Sweden. From 1999 to 2005 he was Music Director of the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in Sardinia. After 13 years as Principal Conductor of Austria’s Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg Bregenz, Gérard Korsten was awarded Conductor Laureate in summer 2018.
Gérald Korsten’s Arthaus DVD of Le nozze di Figaro, recorded at La Scala with a cast led by Diana Damrau and Ildebrando d’Arcangelo, was awarded a Diapason D’Or in France and designated Critic’s Choice by US magazine Opera News. His other recordings include Tchaikovsky’s Serenade and Souvenir de Florence with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Deutsche Grammophon), orchestral works by Crusell, Lindblad and Eggert (Naxos), La Veuve joyeuse (DVD, Erato) and a number of live recordings with the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari: Die ägyptische Helena, Euryanthe and Lucia di Lammermoor on CD (Dynamic) and, on DVD, Alfonso und Estrella (Dynamic) and Don Pasquale (Arthaus).
Gérard Korsten has two daughters and lives in both Zurich and Arezzo (Tuscany) with his wife, Italian soprano Eva Mei.
2023/2024
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