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Juanjo MENA [ARCHIVER], Conductor

Chief Conductor, BBC Philharmonic

Mena loves to put a singing quality into phrases, to find little bends and breaths within a tempo, to make as big an effort for delicious pianissimos as for thunderous explosions. - Baltimore Sun

Mena’s warm-blooded sound, maneuvers, and sharp orchestra discipline lifted Schubert’s symphonic testament up to a level you expect to hear in the greatest European concert halls.
- Haugesund’s Avis (Norway)

Rarely have I heard a Bruckner Sixth that displayed such masterful long-term vision, and never, I think, one that made the work seem so important - UK Telegraph

Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic in Mancheste, United Kingdom, Juanjo Mena is one of Spain’s most distinguished international conductors.

Following his recent debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and appearances with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, highlights of Maestro Mena’s 2016-17 season include his debuts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony and the Swedish Radio Orchestra, as well as return visits to Boston, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Copenhagen, Dresden and Oslo, and two European tours with the BBC Philharmonic. In October 2016, he is named Principal Conductor of the famous Cincinnati May Festival for three years starting in the 2017-18 season.

Besides his many collaborations with leading orchestras in North America and Europe, he has been Artistic Director of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Chief Guest Conductor of the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. With the BBC Philharmonic, he has led tours of Europe and Asia, and performs with them every year at the BBC Proms in London.
A guest of international festivals and opera houses, he also devotes part of his career to the operatic repertoire, from Mozart and Tchaikovsky to Wagner, Richard Strauss or Belà Bartók.

Many of his recordings have gained dazzling reviews and awards (BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month for his De Falla album, Gramophone Editor’s Choice for a Pierné album…) and his rendering of Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphonie with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is said by Gramophone to “utterly redefine the terms under which past/current/future Turangalîlas need to be judged”.

http://juanjomena.com/en/
General management : Columbia Artists Management, Inc - http://cami.com/

2016-17 Season - Not to be altered without permission. Please contact VJAM for HD pictures
Photo credit © Michal Novak

Chief Conductor, BBC Philharmonic

Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, United Kingdom, Juanjo Mena is one of Spain’s most distinguished international conductors.

Following his recent debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and appearances with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, highlights of Maestro Mena’s 2016-17 season include his debuts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony and the Swedish Radio Orchestra, as well as return visits to Boston, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Copenhagen, Dresden and Oslo, and two European tours with the BBC Philharmonic. In October 2016, he is named Principal Conductor of the famous Cincinnati May Festival for three years starting in the 2017-18 season.

In Europe he has worked with many prestigious orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre national de France, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Munich Radio Orchestra and the Dresden Philharmonic, as well as with all the major Spanish orchestras. He has been Artistic Director of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Chief Guest Conductor of the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has conducted most of the leading orchestras in North America, including Chicago, Boston, Houston, Cincinnati, Montreal, Toronto, Baltimore and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

A guest of international festivals, he has appeared at the Stars of White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Hollywood Bowl, Grant Park (Chicago), Tanglewood and La Folle Journée (Nantes). He has led the BBC Philharmonic on tours of Europe and Asia, including performances in Cologne, Munich, Vienna, Madrid, Beijing and Seoul, and performs with them every year at the BBC Proms in London.

His operatic work includes The Flying Dutchman, Salome, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung and productions including Eugene Onegin in Genoa, The Marriage of Figaro in Lausanne and Billy Budd in Bilbao.

He has made several recordings with the BBC Philharmonic, including a disc of works by Manuel de Falla, which was a BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month, Gabriel Pierné, which was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, and releases of music by Ginastera, Albéniz, Montsalvatge, Weber and Turina which have gained excellent reviews from the specialist music press. He has also recorded a critically acclaimed rendering of Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphonie for Hyperion with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Juanjo Mena’s Messiaen interpretation is said to utterly redefine the terms under which past/current/future Turangalîlas need to be judged. (Gramophone, October 2012).

http://juanjomena.com/en/
General management : Columbia Artists Management, Inc - http://cami.com/

2016-17 Season - Not to be altered without permission. Please contact VJAM for HD pictures
Photo credit ©Michal Novak

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Highlights

Juanjo Mena, Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival

The unanimous choice of the Festival’s Artistic Committee, Juanjo has been named Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival for three years starting in the 2017-18 season.

http://www.mayfestival.com/then-and-now/press/juanjo-mena-press-release/

Juanjo Mena has been awarded the 2016 Premio Nacional de Música

November 21, 2016: Juanjo received the prize from the Spanish Ministry of Culture in recognition of his growing international career and of his commitment to the promotion of Spanish Music. He will donate the prize money towards the funding for musical education in Spain.

http://juanjomena.com/en/noticias/juanjo-mena-premio-nacional-de-musica-2016/