MAESTRO THEODORE KUCHAR
Biography

Theodore Kuchar, one of the most prolifically recorded conductors of the past decade, appears on over 100 compact discs for the Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine and Marco Polo labels. For the past fifteen years, he has served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of two of Europe's pre-eminent Orchestras, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the Czech Radio Orchestra) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Since 1991, he has served as Artistic Director of The Australian Festival of Chamber Music, an annual event regarded as the most important chamber music festival in the Southern Hemisphere. He presently also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra and the Reno Chamber Orchestra in the United States. In addition, he serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, the educational institution established by the late George Szell and The Cleveland Orchestra, while also serving as the Artistic Director of the Nevada Chamber Music Festival. During the past several seasons, guest conducting engagements have taken him to major musical centers including Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Prague, Seoul and Sydney.

Soloists with whom Kuchar has collaborated through the 2007-08 season include James Galway, Jessye Norman, Lynn Harrell, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Mstislav Rostropovich and Frederica von Stade, among others.

Highlights of 2008 have included appearances with the Munich Philharmonich and BBC Symphony Orchestra of Wales, on a single-day's notice, conducting Josef Suk's epic Asrael Symphony. With the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, he has conducted tours of Australia, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland during the
2006-07 season; in January-February, 2009, they will undertake a four week tour of the USA. With the NSO of Ukraine, 11 international tours included Asia, Australia, Central Europe and the United Kingdom.During the 2003-04 season he conducted the opening subscription weeks and a three-week European Tour with the Berliner Symphoniker (Berlin Symphony); during the past two seasons, he will have conducted nearly 40 concerts with this distinguished orchestra. In February, 2005, he conducted a three week United States Tour with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. Additional engagements include collaborations in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Berlin, Bucharest, Kiev, Palerm o, Prague, Rome and Rotterdam.

With the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, since 2005, Kuchar and the orchestra have recorded 10 compact discs, devoted to the complete symphonies of Carl Nielsen, the complete overtures and tone poems of Dvorak and the complete orchestral works of Bedrich Smetana. Under Mr. Kuchar’s direction, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine has today become the most frequently recorded orchestra of the former Soviet Union. During the period 1994-2004, the orchestra recorded over 70 compact discs for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels, including the complete symphonies of Kalinnikov, Lyatoshynsky, Martinu and Prokofiev, as well as major works of Dvorak, Glazunov, Mozart, Shchedrin, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky and the symphonies and orchestral works of Ukraine’s leading contemporary symphonist, Yevhen Stankovych. The first of these recordings, devoted to Lyatoshynsky’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, was awarded the ABC’s “Best International Recording of the Year” in 1994. Their recording of the complete works for violin and orchestra by Walter Piston for the Naxos label was hailed by Gramophone (January,2000) as a “Record of the Year” for 1999. The recently released complete symphonies of Prokofiev are regarded by many critics as the most accomplished cycle available on record. As a violist, his recording of works by Walter Piston was awarded the Chamber Music America/WQXR “Record of the Year” for 2001. The most recent releases of the NSOU, in 2003, include recordings, on the Naxos label, of Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain in the familiar Rimsky-Korsakov version and rarely heard original version), Tchaikovsky (Romeo and Juliet, 1812 Overture, Capriccio Italien and Marche Slav) and Roy Harris (Symphonies Nos. 7 and 9).

During the 1996-97 season, Kuchar and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine undertook a project devoted to the performance of the cycle of complete symphonies of Anton Bruckner, in their original versions. This historic project, commemorating the centenary of Bruckner’s death, was sponsored by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Af fairs. During the 1997-98 season, they undertook a cycle of the complete symphonies of Franz Schubert, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Kuchar remains as strong an advocate of composers of the present day as he does of the great composers of the past. During the past season, he has conducted works, in the presence of the composers, of George Crumb, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, Benjamin Lees, Alfred Schnittke, Rodion Shchedrin and Yevhen Stankovych, amongst others. In May, 2000 Mr. Kuchar conducted the world premiere, at the invitation of Yo-Yo Ma, of the Capriccio for Cello and Orchestra, with Mr. Ma as soloist, by American composer Lukas Foss.

Theodore Kuchar continues to devote several periods annually to one of his most serious passions, the performance of chamber music. His colleagues have included James Buswell, Martin Chalifour, Sarah Chang, Lamar Crowson, Leila Josefowicz, Oleg Kagan, Dong-Suk Kang, Isabelle van Keulen, Oleh Krysa, Mark Lubotsky, Truls Mork, Paul Neubauer, Irina Schnittke, Torleif Thedeen and Thomas Zehetmair. In 1994, he participated with colleagues Oleh Krysa and Alexander Ivashkin in the world premiere of Penderecki’s String Trio in New York City. In July of 1999, he appeared as violist in two recordings for the Naxos label, in works by Alfred Schnittke (with Irina Schnittke and Mark Lubotsky) and Walter Piston.

RELATED LINKS

Theodore Kuchar Critical Acclaim

Fresno Philharmonic Musicians

2008-2009 Concert Listing