John Axelrod
In Switzerland, the Swiss National Orchestra, which operates on a project basis and is made up of musicians from Swiss and foreign orchestras, has been founded. The orchestra has appointed John Axelrod as Music Director.
The American-born conductor, who recently became a Swiss citizen, was musical director in Lucerne from 2004 to 2009. Axelrod was elected Principal Conductor of the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra in an open ended contract in 2022. From 2019 to 2023 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. He was also elected Artistic and musical director of the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville in 2014 and was Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, Between 2009 and 2013, Axelrod was music director of l’Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, based in Nantes and Angers, France. He has also served as Principal Guest Conductor of Sinfonietta Cracovia from 2001 to 2009.
The Swiss national Orchestra has also appointed Ralf Weikert as First Guest Conductor.
Ralf Weikert, long-time director of the Richard Wagner Festival in Wels and guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Arena di Verona, at the San Francisco Opera, at the Royal Opera in Stockholm and many other houses in Europe, America and Japan, was General Music Director at the Frankfurt Opera and the Zurich Opera House.
Under the direction of Maestro John Axelrod, the Swiss National Orchestra, together with soloists Regula Mühlemann, soprano, and Sebastian Jacot, flute, will perform for the National Day on 1 August 2024 at 11.00 a.m. in the Great Hall of the Casino Theater Bern. Admission is free (reservation required): Tickets can be reserved via the following link: www.vivat-helvetia.com.
Audio and video productions as well as several concerts in foreign countries are planned, the first being the one on November 17 at the Vatican.
