George Pehlivanian is represented by Rayfield Allied for Opera (excluding Italy).

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George Pehlivanian

Conductor

  • ...Pehlivanian...achieved the kind of sensitivity of background that we rarely witness on our concert stages...
    Stanislav Koblar, Finance

  • George Pehlivanian was born in Beirut, starting piano and violin lessons at the age of three and six respectively. In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles with his family and subsequently studied conducting with Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel and Ferdinand Leitner.

    In 1991 he became the first American to win the Besançon Conducting Competition. Since then he has conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, Filarmonica della Scala, Qatar Philharmonic, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra Nazionalle della RAI Torino, BBC Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker, the Norddeutsche, Hessische and Südwetsdeutsche Runfunk Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Bournemouth Symphony, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Radio Television de España, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra among others. In North America he has conducted the Montreal, Baltimore, Houston, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Paul, Vancouver and Toronto symphony orchestras. Elsewhere, he has worked with the Russian National Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, Kirov Opera Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Japan Virtuoso Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic and Hong-Kong Philharmonic Orchestras.

    George Pehlivanian was Principal Guest Conductor of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Sardinia and Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz from 2002 - 2012.

    His operatic work has included Carmen, Long Beach Opera, California, La Traviata, Kirov Theatre, St. Petersburg, Tosca, Grand Theatre, Bordeaux, Evgeny Onegin, Teatro Verdi, Trieste, Otello and Cavalleria Rusticana and Gianni Schicci Teatro San Carlo, Napoli, Pique Dame and Andrea Chenier at the Teatro Lirico, Cagliari, La Damnation de Faust Teatro San Carlo, Napoli and Teatro Regio, Parma, the world premiere of Le jour des meurtres d’Hamlet by Pierre Thilloy, Metz, and recently,conducted a new production of Boris Godunov at the Teatro massimo de Palermo.

    George Pehlivanian is represented for Opera (excluding Italy) by Robert Slotover at Rayfield Allied.
    This biography is for information only and should not be reproduced.

    • Orchestra Haydn Orchester
      Bolzano

      Musicista sopraffino, Pehlivanian appariva come pure materiale conduttore: nella sua gestualità totale qualsiasi elemento tecnico diveniva funzionale all’obiettivo espressivo in servaggio al dettato delle partiture.
      Annely Zeni, Il Trentino
      George Pehlivanian ha diretto con rare maestria e passione.
      Giancarlo Riccio
      La bella performance di Antonio Albanese, assieme alla puntuale direzione di George Pehlivanian, hanno offerto al publlico una appagante interpretazione, omaggiata da battimani insistenti, che sono stati infine ricambiati dal solista con due fuoriprogramma di brillante e travolgente virtuosismo.
      Mauro Franceschi, Alto Adige

    • Concerts at Opéra de Nice: Glinka / Szymanowski / Tchaikovsky
      (January 2009)

      Un Orchestre philharmonique en plein accord et visiblement heureux de recevoir George Pehlivanian, un chef brilliant et trés inspire par les compositeurs ukrainien et russe inscrits au programme. Une ouverture en forme de mise en bouche puisque le dynamisme coloré de cette pièce, plus connue que l’opéra lui-même, a immédiatement montré un chef assure et confiant dans ses gestes, dirigeant sans partition et en parfaite harmonie avec un orchestre puissamment imprégné de ses inspirations. Dans la deuxième partie…George Pehlivanian fait exploser le cadre réducteur de son pupitre, libérant une sorte de fougue corporelle et décuplant une énergie dans les signaux directifs, ouvrant finalement un espace destine, selon lui, à “donner toute la liberté à l’orchestre” de s’exprimer dans un morceau qui requiert une part essentielle d’éprouvé. On ne s’en plaindra guère tant l’interprétation de cette ouvre connue se trouce enrichie par cette densité humaine. A l’issue du concert, où un “mabrouk” lui fut chaleureusement adressé, George Pehlivanian donnait quelques details sur son origine libanaise, paraissant touché par l’évocation nostalgique de Mar Mikaël, un des quartiers du vieux Beyrouth où il est né. Au point d’émettre le souhait de venir jouer un jour prochain dans son pays natal. Celui de cèdre qu’il n’a pas revu depuis plus de trente ans.
      Nice Premium
      Le concert était dirigé par un chef aux gestes expressifs, éloquents et spectaculaires, le libanais George Pehlivanian, actuellement chef de l’Opéra de Sardaigne. Connaissant sa symphonie par coeur, il fit tonitruer la musique, gagnant aussitôt l’enthousiasme du public...
      André Peyregne

    • La Damnation de Faust: Teatro San Carlo
      (March 2009)

      George Pehlivanian aveva già diretto a Parma (maggio 2004); qui rende la partitura con attenzione, evidenziando la sequenza delle varie scene…L'orchestra lo segue in modo mirabile.
      Teatro.Org
      In effetti sul fronte musicale siamo di fronte ad una proposta decisamente pregevole. Coro e orchestra si comportano egregiamente sotto la direzione di Pehlivanian: la sua bacchetta guida con autorevolezza e grande senso del colore la partitura, riuscendo nel compito non facile di bilanciare le accesissime tinte orchestrali con la presenza in campo delle voci protagoniste.
      Il Giornale della Musica

    • Cavalleria Rusticana: Teatro San Carlo
      (March 2007)

      Pehlivanian's balanced conducting, with simple effects but not without warmth, is well-suited to the director's vision.
      Il Giornale della Musica

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