Juraj Valčuha (born 1976, Bratislava) is a Slovak conductor who has worked mainly in Italy and France. He is the designated conductor of the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

from the 2022/23 season.

Life

Born in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Valčuha studied composition, conducting and

cimbalom The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in ...

at the ''Konzervatórium v Bratislave''. He later studied conducting with Ilya Musin in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and with

Janos Fürst János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. From 2003 to 2005, he was an assistant conductor at the Orchestre national de Montpellier and the

Opéra national de Montpellier The Opéra national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon is an opera company located in the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, France. The company was established in 1755 and was granted the status of "National Opera" in 2002 by the French Minist ...

. Valčuha first guest-conducted the

RAI National Symphony Orchestra The RAI National Symphony Orchestra ( it, italic=no, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI) is an Italian symphony radio orchestra, owned by the public radio and television company RAI. Its primary concert venue is the Auditorium RAI in the Piazz ...

in 2005. He became the orchestra's principal conductor in the 2009–10 season. He concluded his RAI tenure in 2016. In July 2016, the

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...

announced the appointment of Valčuha as its music director. He is scheduled to stand down from the San Carlo post on 31 December 2022. Valčuha is principal guest conductor of the

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and was rebuil ...

as of the 2017–18 season, following his initial guest-conducting appearance with the orchestra in the 2014–15 season, and his subsequent return guest-conducting engagement two years later. In the US, Valčuha first guest-conducted the

in 2011. He returned as a guest conductor with the Houston Symphony for two subsequent engagements, in April 2018 and in March 2021. In July 2021, the Houston Symphony announced the appointment of Valčuha as its next music director, effective with the 2022–2023 season. Valčuha makes his home in France and Houston.

References

External links

*
Vermont Classics agency biography of Juraj Valčuha

* ttp://www.rai.it/dl/portali/site/articolo/ContentItem-3f3c94dd-fdb5-4cbb-b8d9-a85839aa2b2e.html Musica di RAI3, Italian-language page on Juraj Valčuha
'Herzlich willkommen, Juraj Valcuha!' Konzerthausorchester Berlin page on Juraj Valčuha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valcuha, Juraj 1976 births Living people Slovak conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Musicians from Bratislava 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century male musicians