Fierce, restless, maniacally domineering would be only a tiny handful of epithets to describe Theodor Kurentzis, one of the most celebrated young conductors in present-day Russia.
Theodor Kurentzis is a new star on the Russian musical horizon. The skinny looking, long-haired beau of a dandy, with a perfect Greek profile, Theodor is a popular figure in the press, a favourite with the city beau-monde, a stylish model and even a local “glamour” king. Thus assessed, he is unanimously recognized as the undisputable “Persona of the Year 2006”.
Greek by origin, 34-year-old Theodor Kurentzis has been living in Russia since he graduated from Athens Conservatory more than ten years ago, came to upgrade his skills at St.Petersburg Conservatory and joined the Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Now maestro Kurentzis receives a million offers daily, of which, he says, he says yes to five hundred thousand. Theodor is in close cooperation with a great variety of artistic groups and is the chief conductor of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, one of the nation’s biggest.
For Theodor Kurentzis Moscow and Novosibirsk have become home cities. In an exclusive interview he gave to the Voice of Russia he spoke of the love he feels for his second homeland: “Russia is a world of magic, where the ideas of high art transform in a special way. I’ve been invited to work in theatres across Europe but I miss Russia so much whenever I’m away that I am longing to come back. Life has its pluses and its minuses. But I do love Russia”.
Highly emotional and charismatic on stage Theodor Kurentzis looks utterly spontaneous as he directs an orchestra feeling music with each fiber of his body. But this spontaneity is largely imaginary. The conductor himself has this to say:
Theodor says rehearsing a piece requires tremendous rationalism and performing it requires strong emotion. Both are equally important. Emotion is the current and rationalism is the electric socket that receives current under voltage.
Theodor Kurentzis has initiated a large number of remarkable artistic projects, including the International Contemporary Art Festival “Territory” in Moscow last autumn. In a relatively short time he has accomplished a great deal and the main achievement of his is that he brought the new, young, public to the academic concert hall. You should see the wild rapture in the eyes of the young when they listen to Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner in the direction of Theodor Kurentzis! …
