No. 2043 Subscription (Program B)

Fabio Luisi hails from Genoa. He first conducted the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2001 and became its Chief Conductor in September 2022. He performed Verdi’s Requiem to celebrate his appointment, and Mahler’s Symphonie der Tausend for the orchestra’s 2000th subscription concert in 2023. In 2024, he led the orchestra’s Taiwanese tour, and then in May 2025, he successfully led its European tour scheduled in conjunction with Amsterdam’s Mahler Festival at The Concertgebouw, the Prague Spring Festival and the Dresdner Musikfestspiele: the NHK Symphony Orchestra was the first Asian orchestra to appear at the Mahler Festival, performing the composer’s Symphonies No. 3 and No. 4 to critical praise.
Currently the Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, he was General Music Director of the Opernhaus Zürich, Principal Conductor of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Chief Conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, General Music Director of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsische Staatsoper, Principal Conductor and Chief Conductor of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, Artistic Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Chief Conductor of the Tonkünstler Orchester and Artistic Director of the Grazer Symphonisches Orchester. He is also Music Director of Puglia’s Festival della Valle d’Itria Martina Franca and Emeritus Conductor of Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai. He is a frequent guest of leading orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Saito Kinen Orchestra, opera houses and festivals worldwide.
In recording, his complete Nielsen symphonic cycle with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra was recognized with Limelight and Abbiati Awards in 2023, while its first volume was named Recording of the Year by Gramophone. He received a Grammy Award for his leadership of the last two operas of Wagner’s Ring cycle at the Metropolitan Opera, as released on DVD. His first CD with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1st version) was released in May 2025.
He is an accomplished composer and maker of perfumes.

Born in Granada, Spain in 2002, María Dueñas has emerged as a luminous talent in classical music, captivating audiences with her extraordinary range of tonal colours, impeccable technical prowess, and artistic maturity.
She produced a great sensation in 2021 by winning the Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. She has performed with the world’s leading orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Münchner Philharmoniker, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Orchestre de Paris alongside a constellation of esteemed conductors. Upcoming highlights include debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Wiener Philharmoniker and Maestro Zubin Mehta.
Praised by The New York Times for her ability to breathe “new life into well-known pieces,” she will perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto during her highly anticipated first collaboration with the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Her debut album Beethoven and Beyond (2023) showcasing her remarkable interpretation of this concerto featuring cadenzas composed by herself, earned her the prestigious Opus Klassik Young Talent of the Year award in 2024.
She performs on a Nicolò Gagliano from 1774 on loan from Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, and has also been entrusted with the Stradivarius “Camposelice” from 1710 by the Nippon Music Foundation.