Robert Treviño To Conduct The City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra In Leipzig's Mahler Festival, Joining A Starry Line-Up

Rising Mexican-American conductor Robert Treviño is to return to Leipzig on 21st May at the helm of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, to conduct Mahler's Tenth Symphony at the city's highly prestigious Mahler Festival, an event that includes a raft of the world's most sought-after conductors (among them Andris Nelsons, Semyon Bychkov, Myung Whun Chung, Daniele Gatti, Ivan Fischer, Daniel Harding, Tugan Sokhiev and Christian Thielemann) and orchestras. There will be a prior performance with the CBSO at Symphony Hall in Birmingham on 18th May.

Treviño is well-known to Leipzig audiences, having conducted both the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (which is hosting this festival) and the MDR Symphony Orchestra on multiple occasions. Indeed, earlier this season, he brought to the MDR an important English symphony (Walton's First) for perhaps its first-ever performance with a German orchestra - and now, in a neat twist, he will effectively reverse that scenario, bringing an English orchestra in a Germanic symphony!

Much admired in the works of Gustav Mahler, Treviño has been acclaimed for his Mahler interpretations with, among others, the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Tonkunstler, La Fenice Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and, of course, the Basque National Orchestra where he is Music Director, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI where he is Principal Guest Conductor. Indeed, he has recently returned from a sold-out tour of Poland with the Basque National Orchestra, where they played Mahler's Symphony No.5.

This Mahler Festival appearance sees Treviño replacing Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, who is ill.

"I'm delighted to have been invited to conduct the wonderful CBSO in Mahler's 10th Symphony at this important event," says Treviño, "What better environment could there be to really dive into the troubled soul of Mahler, a composer whose music is a part of my life with every breath I take? What better colleagues to interpret alongside, and in what better city than the one that Mahler himself called home for several years? I can't wait, also to be back with the CBSO at home in Birmingham."

Next season Treviño will appear at another major Mahler festival, when he brings the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI to the Milan Mahler Festival. He will conduct Mahler's Symphony No. 5, with other symphonies conducted by Riccardo Chailly, Antonio Pappano and Daniele Gatti.

WATCH a clip of Robert Treviño conducting Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Basque National Orchestra here, or the whole performance here. Watch a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 7 with the La Fenice orchestra here.

For more information about the performance and livestreaming at the Leipzig Mahler Festival, see here.

Robert Treviño has rapidly emerged as one of the most exciting American conductors performing today. He is Music Director of the Basque National Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI.

His major recording contract with Ondine has resulted in a widely-praised complete Beethoven cycle with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra, two much-acclaimed Ravel albums and a survey of little-known American masterpieces, 'Americascapes', both with the Basque National Orchestra. 'Americascapes' was nominated for a Gramophone Award, and named a 'Best Recording of 2021' by Presto Music, while 'Ravel' was named Recording Of The Month by Limelight, Recording Of The Week by France Musique and Critic's Choice by Record Geijutsu. His album of works by Rautavaara was nominated for Presto Music's 'Best Recording of 2022'. His Bruch symphonies cycle with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra was released by CPO, to universally positive reviews.

In recent seasons, European engagements have included the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre De Paris, Orchestre National de Toulouse, La Scala Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zurich, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Vienna Symphony and Helsinki Philharmonic. In North America he has conducted the Cleveland Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, San Francisco, Utah, Toronto, Cincinnati and Detroit. Elsewhere he has conducted the Sao Paulo Symphony, NHK Symphony and St Petersburg Philharmonic. Opera engagements include the Bolshoi Opera, Zurich Opera, La Fenice, Washington National Opera and the Puccini Festival. He has led many international tours around the Far East, Europe and North America.

Treviño was Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Malmo Symphony Orchestra. He has commissioned and worked closely with many leading composers, among them John Adams, Philip Glass, Sofia Gubaidulina, Jennifer Higdon, Andre Previn, George Walker, Augusta Read Thomas, Shulamit Ran, Ramon Lazkano and John Zorn.