Karel Mark Chichon

Karel Mark Chichon OBE FRAM (born 1971) is a British-Gibraltarian orchestra conductor.

Biography

Born in London, Chichon studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna under Leopold Hager. Chichon and businessman Ian Angus co-founded the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society in the year 1998.[1] Chichon continues to serve as the society's artistic director.[2]

Career

Chichon was chief conductor of the Graz Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2009. He served as chief conductor and artistic director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra from 2009 to 2012. Chichon became chief conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern (DRP) in September 2011.[3] In March 2013, his initial contract was extended through the 2016–2017 season.[4] In March 2015, the orchestra and Chichon mutually announced the scheduled conclusion of his DRP tenure at the end of the 2016–2017 season.[5] In the US, Chichon made his Metropolitan Opera conducting debut in February 2016 with performances of Madama Butterfly,[6] which included one cinema relay. In May 2017, he was appointed chief conductor and artistic director of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, effective with the 2017–2018 season.[7] In May 2018 his contract has been renewed and he will continue to guide the artistic destiny of the Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria as its Chief Conductor and Artistic Director until the year 2023.[8]

Discography

His commercial recordings include two albums for Deutsche Grammophon, Meditation[9] and Habanera, both of which feature his wife Elīna Garanča.[10] In 2014 he recorded Dvořák's Symphony No. 1 with the DRP orchestra for the Hänssler Classic label, the first of a projected set of all nine of Dvořák's symphonies.[11]

Chichon was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to music and culture in Gibraltar.[12] In March 2016, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.[13]

Personal life

Chichon and Elina Garanča have two daughters, Catherine Louise Chichon and Cristina Sophie Chichon, who in turn are granddaughters to Harry Chichon and Leonor Chichon.[14][15]

References
  1. "The Gibraltar Philharmonic Society has been created" (Press release). Gibraltar Philharmonic Society. 16 November 1998. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2016.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) (archived version of 16 January 2010).
  2. Gibraltar Philharmonic Society Artistic Director: Karel Mark Chichon. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  3. "Karel Mark Chichon". Opéra national de Paris. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. "Karel Mark Chichon hat seinen Vertrag als Chefdirigent der Deutschen Radio Philharmonie vorzeitig bis 2017 verlängert" (Press release). SWR. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  5. "Karel Mark Chichon gibt bekannt, seinen Vertrag nach sechs Jahren als Chefdirigent der Deutschen Radio Philharmonie nicht zu verlängern" (Press release). SWR. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  6. Zachary Woolfe (21 February 2016). "Review: 'Madama Butterfly' Showcases Ana María Martínez". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  7. "Karel Mark Chichon, nuevo director de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria tras dirigir la Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, la Nacional de Letonia y la Sinfónica de Graz de Austria" (Press release). Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  8. "Karel Mark Chichon renews contract in Gran Canaria". Pizzicato (in French). Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  9. Adrian Edwards (October 2014). "Elīna Garanča: Meditation". Gramophone. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  10. Rupert Christiansen (26 September 2012). "Elina Garanca: We mezzos get to have such fun". Telegraph. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  11. Hodgson, Antony (July 2015). "Review: Karel Mark Chichon conducts Dvořák’s Complete Symphonies: 1 – Symphony No.1 (The Bells of Zlonice) [Hänssler]". Classical Source
  12. "No. 60173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2012. p. 23.
  13. "2016 Honours are announced" (Press release). Royal Academy of Music. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  14. "Elina Garanča: a singer is like a sportsman". Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT). 20 May 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  15. "Extended biography". Karel Mark Chichon – Conductor. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Olari Elts		 Music Director, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra
2009–2012		 Succeeded by
Andris Poga
Preceded by
Christoph Poppen		 Chief Conductor, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern
2011–2017		 Succeeded by
Pietari Inkinen
Preceded by
Pedro Halffter		 Chief Conductor, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
2017–present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
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