Author: René Gulikers

Bernard Benoliel in Riga Ever heard of Bernard Benoliel? Until recently I had never heard of him, despite the fact that he owned an apartment in Amsterdam’s canal district for 30 years and was a Dutch citizen. This composer of Italian origin ( 1943-2017) grew up in the US and worked for a long time in England as a promoter… Read more →

Due to corona, many of my activities as a conductor couldn’t take place. One of them was my engagement as a guest conductor last month in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) with Beethovens and Prokofievs 5th symphonies. But corona gave me also new opportunities: In June, I will be part of an international jury in the Viennese “World Orchestra Festival”, which this… Read more →

I am happy to inform you about some new developments in my activities as a conductor/teacher. Corona crisis As with every conductor in the world, due to the Corona crisis, all my rehearsals, concerts and tours were cancelled during the months of March until June. My concert in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) with the Philharmonic Orchestra, didn’t take place, tours to… Read more →

It has been a long time since I published my last post. This doesn’t mean, there was no news to mention, I was just very, very busy. Let me start with the latest news. This month, on January 25, I will make my debut in one of the finest and most renown concert halls in the world: the Concertgebouw in… Read more →

    The season 2017-2018 was my 25th season as a professional conductor. In one of my latest newsletters (click here) , I wrote about the start of my career with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. In my jubilee season, I conducted again Russian orchestras with fantastic programs: the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, the Volgograd Philharmonic Orchestra, the BACH Chamber Orchestra from… Read more →

Last week I was in Volgograd for the second time, to conduct again the Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert on April 29. This time with a very romantic program: Mendelssohn – Overture Hebrides Saint-Saëns – Violin Concerto no. 3 Dvorak – Symphony no. 9 To me, the Hebrides overture is the most beautiful overture of the entire symphonic repertoire. I… Read more →

Report of my 2nd trip during my 25th conductor’s jubilee Two weeks ago, I left home to conduct the BACH Chamber Orchestra (Soloists of Russia) from Yekaterinburg and the Murmansk Philharmonic Orchestra. I did put as many as possible warm clothes in my suitcase, knowing it would be cold in the Ural and above the Polar Circle.   The last… Read more →

In this season, it will be exactly 25 years ago that my professional conducting career began. It was in December 1992 in Moscow with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. On the program works by Feldman, Freisitzer, Janssen and Lindberg. For an impression of this memorial concert including a TV-interview, take a look at the short video below. Since then, I have… Read more →

  After having prepared myself during many months to be able to conduct the famous “Le sacre du Printemps” by Stravinsky by heart, I left for Volgograd on March 27. The other piece on the program was the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, to be played by my son Maxime, who would travel to Volgograd some days later. My flight schedule: Amsterdam… Read more →

After my very successful Russian tour in May/June 2016, I conducted a lot of premieres and other new music in Germany. Last June there were 5 world premieres of compositions by  four young composers, varying from chamber orchestra to quintet, played in four different concerts. Their names: Areum Lee, Jinwook Jung, Seungwon Yang, Mehran Sherkat Naderi.     During summer, I conducted… Read more →