John Axelrod

A concert that has the charm of a trip across the United States on the legendary Route 66. From G-Spot Tornado, held by the same Frank Zappa's "of impossible execution", to the composition of John Adams for the fortieth birthday of his friend and conductor Simon Rattle based on the rhythm of the word Lollapalooza; from the Symphonic Dances, the fulcrum of the masterpiece of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, to Apollon musagète, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky represented for the first time in Washington in 1928 and led to success in Paris, with the choreography by George Balanchine, a few weeks later. In Paris too, on November 22 of that year 1928, went for the first time on stage the hypnotic sensuality of another masterpiece: the Boléro by Maurice Ravel.

Program

Frank Zappa
G-Spot Tornado

John Adams
Lollapalooza

Leonard Bernstein
Symphonic dances from West Side Story

Igor Stravinskij
Apollon Musagète
Violin solo: Domenico Pierini

Maurice Ravel
Boléro
Drum: Lorenzo D'Attoma

Artists

Conductor
John Axelrod

Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

JOHN AXELROD

Born in Houston in 1966, at sixteen he was accepted to follow Leonard Bernstein during the production of his final opera, A Quiet Place. After graduating cum laude from St. John’s School,  in 1988 he completed a Bachelor's Degree in Music from Harvard University and later studied conducting with Ilya Musin at the State Conservatory of St. Petersburg. In 1996 he founded the Orchestra X in Houston, and three years later became the assistant to Christoph Eschenbach. Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester (2004-2009) and Musical Director of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (2009-2013), in 2011 he was invited first as Principal Conductor and then as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano.  Since 2014 he is the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Real Orquestra Sinfónica of Seville.