Philippe Jordan (born 18 October 1974) is a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
conductor and pianist.
Biography
Born in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
, the son of conductor
Armin Jordan
Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner.
Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a ...
, he began to study piano at the age of six. At age eight, he joined the Zürcher Sängerknaben. He has acknowledged that he wished to become a conductor, like his father, at age 9. His violin studies began at age 11. At 16, he entered the Zürich Conservatory where he obtained his diploma in piano instruction, with honors. He studied theory and composition with the Swiss composer Hans Ulrich Lehmann and continued his piano studies with Karl Engel. At the same time, he worked as an assistant to
Jeffrey Tate
Sir Jeffrey Philip Tate (28 April 19432 June 2017) was an English conductor of classical music. Tate was born with spina bifida and had an associated spinal curvature. After studying medicine at the University of Cambridge and beginning a me ...
on
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
's ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...
'' at the Châtelet in Paris.
In the 1994/1995 season, Jordan was appointed first
Kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
and assistant to
James Allen Gähres
James Allen Gähres (born August 5, 1943 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American conductor, based in Germany.
Biography
Gähres studied music, conducting, composition and piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, where he ...
at the
Theater Ulm. The following year, he made his debut at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. He has since conducted at the Grand Théâtre in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
, the
Vienna Staatsoper
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Si ...
, the Châtelet in Paris, the
Semperoper
The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...
in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
and the Aix-en-Provence International Festival.
From September 1998 to June 2001, Jordan was Kapellmeister and assistant to
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
at the
Berlin State Opera
The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...
(Staatsoper Unter den Linden). He now holds the title of principal guest conductor at the Staatsoper unter den Linden. Jordan was chief conductor of the Graz Opera and of the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra from September 2001 to June 2004.
In the 2001-2002 season, Jordan made his US operatic debut conducting ''Samson et Dalila'' at the Houston Grand Opera, and his UK operatic debut conducting ''Carmen'' at the
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.
History
Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...
. In the 2002-2003 season, he made his debuts at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
and the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
, Covent Garden. He made his first conducting appearance at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich in April 2004, and at the Bastille Opera in Paris in October 2004. His first appearances at the Salzburg Festival took place in the summer of 2004.
In October 2007, Jordan was named the music director of the Opéra National de Paris, starting with the 2009-2010 season. In October 2011, Jordan's contract with the Opéra National de Paris was extended through July 2018. In April 2015, the Opéra National de Paris further extended Jordan's contract through 2021. Jordan is scheduled to conclude his tenure at the Opéra National de Paris at the end of the 2020–2021 season.
In October 2011, Jordan was named chief conductor of the
Wiener Symphoniker
The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Thea ...
(Vienna Symphony Orchestra), effective with the 2014-2015 season, with an initial contract of five years. In December 2016, the orchestra announced the extension of Jordan's contract as chief conductor through the 2020-2021 season. He is scheduled to conclude his Vienna Symphony tenure at the close of the 2020-2021 season. In July 2017, the
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...
announced the appointment of Jordan as its next music director, effective with the 2020-2021 season.
In addition to conducting, Jordan also performs as a pianist in recital and chamber music, such as at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. His commercial recordings include Beethoven symphonies with the Vienna Symphony.
References
External links
Official website of Philippe JordanArsis Artists Management agency German-language page on Philippe Jordan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Philippe
Swiss conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
Living people
1974 births
Musicians from Zürich
21st-century conductors (music)
21st-century male musicians