Chichon conducts Vienna’s most famous Christmas concert

Local conductor Karel Mark Chichon recently conducted the “Christmas in Vienna” concert to great acclaim, which was held on 22 December 2006 at the 2,500 capacity Vienna Konzerthaus.

“Christmas in Vienna” is considered the most important and famous concert in Vienna during Christmas. In recent past concerts it has featured some of the world’s greatest artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Diana Ross, Tony Bennett, Sarah Brightman, Charlotte Church and Vanessa Williams. The 2006 concert featured the Vienna Boys Choir, famous tenor Juan Diego Florez, the legendary mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry and two of Vienna’s favourite singers’ - Adrian Erod (soloist at the Vienna State Opera) and Aneely Peebo (soloist at the Vienna Volksoper). All of these artists were under of the baton of Karel Mark Chichon, conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.

The concert was recorded live by ORF (Austrian National Television and Radio) and by 3Sat TV (German and Austrian Satellite TV network). It was viewed by an approximate half a million viewers across Germany and Austria, and was rated as the most viewed classical music concert during 2006, ahead of the 2006 Salzburg Festival’s new production of Nozze di Figaro which came second in the ratings.

This concert was a personal success for Maestro Chichon and he was immediately re-invited to conduct the 2008 “Christmas in Vienna” concert which is likely to feature tenor Placido Domingo. Such was his impact on the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra that the orchestra has re-invited the Gibraltar Maestro for further concerts in 2007-8 and 2008-9 seasons in their Vienna Konzerhaus subscription series. The new Director of the Vienna Volksoper has also extended an invitation for Karel to conduct a new production of Rossini: Barber of Seville in 2008 at the Volksoper, which he has accepted.

The 2006-7 season has been a very busy but successful time for Karel until now. He very successfully conducted 10 concerts in South Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic during October 2006, where he performed for a total audience of more than 35,000 people and was immediately re-invited to conduct the 2007 tour. This was followed by four concerts in the UK with one of the leading chamber orchestras in the world, the English Chamber Orchestra, where he conducted the prestigious cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and upcoming violinist Nicola Benedetti - these events also led to further re-invitations next season. He then went on to conduct two concerts with the Luebeck Philharmonic in Germany and another four concerts with the Niedderischer Symphony Orchestra in a tour of Germany. Following the “Christmas in Vienna” concert he conducted the New Year Concerts in Riga with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra on 28, 29 and 30 December 2006.

Maestro Chichon’s career is managed and represented by the influential Artists’ Agency “Agentur Seitter” in Vienna. Upcoming engagements in January for the Gibraltar Maestro include a Gala Concert with Joseph Calleja (famous tenor and DECCA recording artist) in Prague, his debut in Innsbruck (Austria) in 2 concerts with the Tiroler Philharmonic and his debut in Bolzano (Italy) with the Haydn Orchestra.

Despite his busy schedule Karel is still firmly committed to the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society which he continues to serve as Artistic Director, ensuring that Gibraltar continues to stage concerts of the highest quality, which Karel feels are comparable to the highest standards throughout Europe.