Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Alfred Eschwé: I would be happy to conduct in Bulgaria again

The world famous conductor in an interview for Radio Bulgaria

Photo: hainzl-delage-artists-management.com

You can’t hear and see all renowned musicians of the world, but you can try. This must have been the idea that motivated hundreds of music lovers to spend their Sunday evening of 3 February listening to the “Viennese” concert by the Sofia Philharmonic, conducted by Alfred Eschwé. And they must have been so glad to have made this choice – what we heard were gems, performed with feeling, inspiration and an impeccable sense of style. To sum up – inviting world-famous names is the perfect gift to the audience in this festive, 90th season of the Sofia Philharmonic. And the best kind of policy by the orchestra management, which has, beyond any doubt, set itself the highest of goals.

Known primarily as an opera conductor, Mr. Eschwé has conducted operas thousands of times at the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro Bellini in Catania, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the opera theatres in Berlin, Munich, Tokyo, Helsinki… In 1989 he joined the Volksoper Wien, of which he was music director for many years. His debut at the Hamburgischen Staatsoper was in 1998, since then he has been a regular guest-conductor.

Alfred Eschwé was born in Vienna, graduated piano and conducting at the Vienna Konservatorium and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. His tutors include legendary conductor and pedagogue Hans Swarowsky. While a student he studied, in great depth, works by a number of composers. Since that time his “second” passion has been for symphony music, and it is just as strong as his “first”. He has conducted orchestras at prestigious venues like Hamburger Konzerthalle, Berliner Philharmonie, but most often at the Wiener Musikverein, together with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the WDR-Radio Orchestra in Cologne etc.

This was Mr. Eschwé’s first time in Bulgaria, his first time working with a Bulgarian orchestra, and probably his first interview for a Bulgarian media outlet. In his interview for Radio Bulgaria he explained how he had made the music selection for the concert in Sofia, spoke of his impression of the orchestra and of his professional preferences.



English version: Milena Daynova




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

''Nepoznаt'' is about feelings that remain unspoken

The young artist ROSS presents his first single entitled "Nepoznаt". Rosen Petrov, the man behind the stage name ROSS, is a graduate of the vocal school in his hometown of Dobrich. He has already won numerous awards from national and international..

published on 3/4/25 1:40 PM

Mariya Angelova- "This is Bulgaria"

"This is Bulgaria – great and holy" ... sings Mariya Angelova in her original song, which we’ve selected for our National Holiday – March 3.  In the song, she poses questions that are increasingly relevant to us as Bulgarians: "Is Bulgaria where..

published on 3/3/25 5:10 AM

Fak[t]: The LATIDA duo move on, and don't forget to say thanks

LATIDA is a vocal duo that has recently made a name for itself in the Bulgarian music scene, not only through collaborations on various projects, but also with their own original songs.  Yana Baleva and Elizabeth Nesheva both started in music years..

published on 2/28/25 2:12 PM