World Champion Australian conductor Daniel Smith, the winner of First Prize, the Golden Baton and the Orchestra’s Choice Prize at UNESCO’s Fitelberg International Conducting Competition 2012, returns to Poland in March 2015!
After 2 years of touring and more than 20 cities all around the world, Maestro Smith, named as «one of the most outstanding musicians of our time» by the Saint Petersburg News, will conduct the Filharmonia Śląska in Katowice and the Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii im. Karola Szymanowskiego in Kraków.
The upcoming concerts in Poland hold a very specific place in Maestro Smith’s 2015 tour, during a season which includes performances with The Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic orchestra, World Expo in Milan, the Arena di Verona, the National Orchestras of Italy and Ireland, and a seven-city tour with the South Netherlands Philharmonic.
Daniel Smith, rapidly gained international acclaim after winning First Prize, the Golden Baton and the Orchestra’s Choice Prize in UNESCO’s Fitelberg International Conducting Competition, as well as the Second Prize in the prestigious Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition. His third success was the First Prize in the Luigi Mancinelli International Opera Conducting Competition along with the Orchestra’s Choice Prize in the Lutosławski International Conducting Competition.
Daniel studied conducting with Jorma Panula, Neeme Järvi, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Hugh Wolff and Peter Gülke. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Fellowships from the Trinity College London, American Academy of Conducting in Aspen and the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg.
Following his highly successful debut as the first Australian to conduct The Mariinsky Orchestra Saint Petersburg, he also conducted the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra (Filharmonia Narodowa), Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (hr-Sinfonieorchester), RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DR SymfoniOrkestret), Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (Göteborgs Symfoniker) and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano «Giuseppe Verdi», among others.
Daniel has conducted at festivals in more than 20 countries around the world, including MiTo Festival and the Proms, Kraków, World Expo, Stars of the White Nights, Mozarteum Festspiele, Järvi Summer Festival, Estate Musicale Chigiana, Aspen Music Festival, Sydney Olympic Arts Festival.
His musicality, energy and spirit create an infectious rapport with musicians and audiences alike. «An amazing musician, an amazing conductor. On the one hand, he created passion, a musical game for skilful musicians and fire from all of the orchestra, on the other – a very professional conductor, one based on knowledge, education and intelligence and not just resulting from great passion and love for music». – says Adam Rozlach, Polish Radio 1.
Last year marked Daniel’s debuts at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and the Mariinsky Theatre, conducting Rossini’s opera, Il viaggio a Reims. Smith’s success as an opera conductor results from his experience with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, where he worked on main operatic repertoire including Il barbiere di Siviglia, Così fan tutte, Der Rosenkavalier, La fanciulla del West, La traviata, Tosca and Wozzeck (alongside directors Giancarlo del Monaco and Franco Zeffirelli). Daniel has also conducted Cavalleria rusticana, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, Der fliegende Holländer and La Rondine.
Some of numerous media reviews from his performances:
-One of the most outstanding musicians of our time» – Saint-Petersburg TV
-The conductor everyone is talking about!» – Sky News
-The best concert in thirty years; left many breathless and in tears» – Saskatoon Symphony
-He infects the orchestra and the listener» – Lutoslawski Competition
-A river of emotion, which immersed the public» – Nice Matin
-Conductor Prodigy from Australia… After the concert last night by one of the most sought after and applauded young conductors in the world, Daniel Smith is already being called the new Karajan» – Saint Petersburg News
-An experience that reaped an ecstatic ovation» – Berlingske Tidende
On March 13th and March 21st Daniel Smith will conduct Filharmonia Śląska in Katowice and the Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii im. Karola Szymanowskiego in Kraków.
The concert in Katowice will also host the launch of Maestro Smith’s charity initiative – The Gift of Music. As his first gift, he has purchased 24 tickets for his concert in Katowice and has donated them to people who could not normally attend due to financial constraint, terminal illness and disability.
March 13, 2015
Sala koncertowa im. Karola Stryji, Filharmonia Śląska, Katowice
Daniel Smith conductor
Krzysztof Jakowicz violin
Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra
MOZART Così fan tutte, K.588: Overture
BEETHOVEN Concerto, Violin, op.61, D major
BEETHOVEN Symphony No.1, op.21, C major
ROSSINI Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville): Overture
March 21, 2015
Sala Filharmonii, Kraków
Daniel Smith conductor
Anna Boczar piano
Bartlomiej Kominek piano
Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra
BEETHOVEN Prometheus (Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus): Overture
BRUCH Concerto, 2 Pianos, op.88a, A-flat Minor
MOZART Symphony No.39, K.543, E-flat major
Daniel Smith’s official site: www.danielsmithonline.com
