No. 2073 Subscription (Program C)

Christoph Eschenbach, born February 20, 1940 in German occupied Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), was a war orphan, raised in Schleswig-Holstein and Aachen by his mother’s cousin, the pianist Wallydore Eschenbach. Her lessons laid the foundation of his illustrious musical career. Following piano studies with Eliza Hansen and conducting with Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg, he won notable piano awards that helped to pave the way for his growing international fame.
Supported by mentors such as George Szell and Herbert von Karajan, the focus of Eschenbach’s career increasingly moved to conducting. He has held prominent positions at the Tonhalle-Orchester ZÜrich, Houston Symphony, NDR Sinfonieorchester (now NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester), Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, and Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He is currently Artistic Director at the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. Alongside his prestigious appointments, Eschenbach has always attached great importance to his extensive activities as a guest conductor, working with orchestras such as the Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo.
Eschenbach has received numerous awards, including the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2015 for his achievements as conductor and pianist.
He made his debut at the NHK Symphony Orchestra’s subscription concerts in 2017, when his performance of the complete Brahms symphonies attracted considerable attention. Since then, he has appeared with the orchestra on numerous occasions primarily in Austro-German repertoire.

[Nahoko Gotoh]