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The Swiss-Argentine conductor, Facundo Agudin, completed a Master’s programme in Conducting at the Universidad Católica Argentina under Professors Néstor Andrenacci and Guillermo Scarabino (1990-1996; Bachelor and Master degrees). He became assistant conductor to Néstor Andrenacci (World Choral Symposium, Vancouver 1993), and studied Italian medieval music in Bologna under Pedro Memelsdorff. In 1996, he undertook postgraduate studies on Historical Composition at the Schola Cantorum in Basle (1996-2000), as well as voice studies by Dennis Hall and Jeanne Roth. Since 1996, he lives in Basel, Switzerland.
As a baritone, his six-year professional experience with the Swiss Chamber Choir (Schweizer Kammerchor) and the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich (1997-2000), singing under Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Armin Jordan, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, David Zinman and in particular Valery Gergiev, provided major impulses for his further development as a conductor.
In 2007, Facundo Agudin was granted the First Prize at the Colin Metters Seminar with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. Based in Basle, he is Artistic and Music Director of Orchestre Musique des Lumières, as well as of contemporary opera company Opera Obliqua. He is co-founder of Neue Opernprojekte Basel and Festival Stand’Eté. Since 2009, he has also been Principal Conductor of the Patagonia Symphony (Argentina) in cooperation with the Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires. Between 2006 and 2008, he worked as principal Guest Conductor at the Armenian National Opera Theatre, and recently became a guest of the Mariinsky Theatre conducting Charles Gounod's Faust in 2014 and 2015. Together with Daniel Barenboim and Alejo Pérez, Agudin integrates the short list of nominees to the award « Best Argentine Conductor 2015 », granted by the national Music Critics Association.
Both on symphonic and opera repertoires, Facundo Agudin has collaborated with Prague Chamber Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Biel Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, State Opera Orchestra of Armenia, Kislovodsk Philharmonic, Polish National Opera - Teatr Wielki Poznan, Teatro Colon Philharmonic, National Symphony of Argentina, Orquesta del Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Orchestra CRT Torino, Sinfonica Aosta, Orchestra Classica Italiana, Orchestre Symphonique de Besançon, Ensemble Ars Nova Poitiers, Orchestre de Cannes, Desaga Chamber Orchestra.
Since 2012, Facundo Agudin develops a consistent collaboration with Argentina’s National Symphony Orchestra, with whom he recently gave acclaimed performances of Igor Stravinsky's Firebird and Oedipus Rex, Benjamin Britten's War Requiem and Edward Elgar's violin concerto with soloist Xavier Inchausti in Buenos Aires. Among his next engagements are to mentioned Berlioz' Romeo et Juliette (National Symphony), Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Paula Almerares, Buenos Aires Philharmonic), Weill’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Marcelo Lombarden, Teatro Colòn de Buenos Aires), Debut at Enescu Festival 2017 with Desaga Chamber Orchestra.
Facundo Agudin has premiered works by Andreas Pflüger, Christian Favre, Jaqueline Fontyn, Dominique Gesseney, Christian Giger, Elmar Lampson, David Sonton, Julio Viera, Pablo Ortiz and Marcelo Nisinman. He collaborates with Universal Music Group and was asked by Ricordi Munich to promote the rediscovery of Simon Mayr’s large operatic work.
In cooperation with RTS SRF Kultur2 and german label NEOS, Facundo Agudin and Orchestre Musique des Lumières launched a recording series including works inspired by swiss art. The first production, “Cantique”, includes Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo, Max Reger's Böcklin-Suite and features the world premiere of Pitture by Andreas Pflüger (Estelle Revaz, cello). He collaborates with Swiss National Radio SRF 2 Kultur and labels NEOS Music, Oehms Classics, Doron Music. His recordings with Orchestre Musique des Lumières include Christian Favre’s Requiem (Doron Music), Robert Schumann’s Der Rose Pilgerfahrt (Doron Music), Simon Mayr’s Demetrio, re di Siria (DRS2/Oehms Classics), Nuevo Tango Nuevo (world premières by Marcelo Nisinman, Pablo Ortiz and Julio Viera, Oehms Classics), Cantique (featuring Bloch’s Schelomo, Max Reger’s Böclin-Suite and the world première of Andreas Pflüger’s cello concerto with soloist Estelle Revaz. NEOS Music). In 2016, two new CD-releases appeared: "Nuevo Tango Nuevo 2 / Proyecto Cortazar" and a revised version of Viktor Ullmann’s masterpiece Der Kaiser von Atlantis, after Agudin’s study of the manuscript at the Sacher Foundation in collaboration with Lisandro Abadie and Pablo Kornfeld.
Facundo Agudin regularly collaborates with artists such as Ramon Vargas and Rubén Amoretti (Verdi Requiem, Don Carlo, Tosca, Mephistophele), regisseurs such as Gustavo Tambascio (Giulio Cesare), Michal Znaniecki (Demetrio, Romulus der grosse), Bruno Ravella (Traviata), Louise Moaty (Der Kaiser von Atlantis). He much enjoys cooperating with soloists such as Sergio Tiempo, Paula Almerares, Marcelo Nisinman, Philippe Bianconi, Bénédicte Tauran, Armen Babakhanian, Catalin Desaga, Pablo Saravi, Mariano Rey, Xavier Inchausti.
On the contemporary opera scene, Facundo Agudin recently commissioned and premiered Romulus der grosse by Andreas Pflüger, adapted from Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s comedy. The new opera encountered great press success in Neuchâtel and Basel and a new production is to be staged in Madrid and Buenos Aires in 2018.
Facundo Agudin also dedicates himself to discovering and supporting young talent : as visiting professor he currently runs the Conducting Seminar at Buenos Aires National University for the Arts, in cooperation with the National Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the “Hebdo / Forum des 100”, hundred personalities who actively contribute to the cultural life of Suisse Romande. He was invited to join the group “Fair Play Suisse”, held by Swiss national Radio-TV (RSR-TSR).
Recently, Facundo Agudin lead the project «Nature Humaine», a live symphonic film on the transformation of energy, with the support of ProHelvetia Foundation and BKW FMB company. This project became a swiss tournée 2010-2011 which included David Sonton’s world premiere of Fieber, Frank Martin’s Les quatre elements and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4 (soloist: Carine Séchaye).
In 2010 Facundo Agudin was invited by the Ricordi Universal to integrate a new practical research team to help re-discovering Simon Mayr’s large operatic work. The programme includes critical editions and CD productions with Oehms Classics and DRS2. The first coproduction has recently started with Demetrio, Re di Siria (Torino 1824), associating OSJ Symphonic.net, Teatr Wielki Poznan, Ostrava National Opera and Teatro Argentino de La Plata. To celebrate 25th anniversary of Jorge Luis Borges death, on June 14, 2011, the Giorgio Cini foundation (Isola San Giorgio Maggiore, Venezia) invited Agudin to conduct world premiere of El Laberinto, by Julio Viera. In 2011, he conducted the world premiere of Amor de Don Perlimplin, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Garcia Lorca’s death. Together with stage director Pablo Ramos, a coproduction is set between Opera de Camara de Navarra, Festival de Granada, Teatro de Malaga, TeatroGayarre de Pamplona, ABAO Bilbao.
Over the next seasons and in parallel to the regular programme, the following “special” projects are to be mentioned : a new CD production on Robert Schumann’s Rose Pilgerfahrt (Doron Music Lausanne), “Nuevo Tango Nuevo : symphonic tango in post-Piazzolla era” (Ricordi Universal), a Film production La orquesta del desierto (Patagonia 2012), a choreographic premiere “2013 : Les autres Sacres” an educational project with choreographer Richard Wherlock, Ballet Basel and OSJ Symphonic.net. |
