Christoph Eschenbach, conductor at 2012 Nobel Prize Concert

Nobel Media, in association with the Stockholm Concert Hall, presents the Nobel Prize Concert – an event of world class stature. The concert will be held on 8 December as part of the official Nobel Week program of activities.

This year’s conductor, Christoph Eschenbach, is one of the greatest of our age. The soloist is the young violinist Ray Chen. Maestro Eschenbach will be conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme comprising Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Bruch’s violin concerto and Mahler’s first symphony.  

Christoph Eschenbach was born in 1940 in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland) and had his debut as a conductor in 1972 in Hamburg with Bruckner’s third symphony. During his forty year career, Christoph Eschenbach has directed the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, the Houston Symphony, Orhestre de Paris and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Since 2010 he has been Music Director for the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C.

Apart from being an exceptional conductor, Christoph Eschenbach is a talented pianist and a renowned mentor for young musicians at the start of their careers. Noteworthy amongst his former pupils are two previous Nobel Prize Concert soloists, Renée Fleming and Lang Lang.

One of Eschenbach’s most recent pupils is the 23-year old violinist Ray Chen. Taiwanese-born Chen was raised in Australia and took up his instrument at the age of four. He has won first prize in two of the most prestigious competitions for young violinists: the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition (2008), and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition (2009).

This year’s Nobel Prize Concert is the eigth in succession; previous soloists, in addition to the above-mentioned, include Yo-Yo Ma, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, Martha Argerich, Yuri Temirkanov, Joshua Bell and Joseph Calleja. The Nobel Prize Concert is held to honour the year’s Nobel laureates, who attend with their respective parties.

Tickets will go on general release on 7 May.

The Nobel Prize Concert is sponsored by DNB.

For further information, contact:
Camilla Hyltén-Cavallius, CEO, Nobel Media 08-663 14 83
Stefan Forsberg, CEO, Stockholm Concert Hall 08-786 02 20