Established as one of Britain’s leading conductors, Justin Brown is Music Director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, a post he took up in the 2006/07 season, and will become General Music Director of the Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe from September 2008.
He has worked with numerous orchestras throughout the UK and Europe including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Odense Symphony, Lithuanian National Symphony and Galicia Symphony Orchestras. Brown’s first collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra resulted in a critically acclaimed recording of Elgar and Barber Cello Concertos with French cellist Anne Gastinel. His recordings of contemporary music for Bridge Records have won critical acclaim, including a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Recording (2006).
Justin Brown’s work in opera has included performances at the English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Lisbon’s Teatro San Carlo, and the opera houses of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Nantes and Oslo. He is also active as a pianist, giving concerts and chamber music recitals across two continents.
Recent engagements included debuts in Asia with the Tokyo and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras, in Europe with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and in America with the Indianapolis and the Dallas Symphony Orchestras. This season he continues to make recordings with Bridge Records and has return invitations to the Sondeborg Symphony, Lithuanian Symphony and St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice (NOSPR)
The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice (earlier known under the name of the Great Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra) came into being in Warsaw in 1935 as the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. It was established and run until the outbreak of the Second World War by Grzegorz Fitelberg. In March 1945, the orchestra was reactivated in Katowice by Witold Rowicki. In 1947, Grzegorz Fitelberg, who had returned to Poland, took over the directorship again. For the 15 years following his death in 1953, the orchestra was managed uninterruptedly by Jan Krenz. After him, it was led by Bohdan Wodiczko, a then Kazimierz Kord, Tadeusz Strugała, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Stanisław Wisłocki, and Jacek Kaspszyk. The orchestra also employed Włodzimierz Ormicki, Henryk Czyż and Jerzy Salwarowski. In the period 1983-2000, it enjoyed the patronage of Antoni Wit, the longest-running Director and Artistic Manager in its history. In September 2000, Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa was appointed its next General Director, and on 1 October 2001 Gabriel Chmura took over the position of Artistic Director. On 31 May 2002 – during a symphony concert – the position of the First Guest Conductor of NOSPR was conferred upon Stanisław Skrowaczewski, the prominent Polish conductor residing in the United States.
The orchestra has made a vast number of historic recordings, including numerous important first performances, which was possible thanks to its cooperation with many contemporary Polish and foreign composers. The orchestra has also made nearly 150 CDs for Polish and foreign companies, e.g. for Polskie Nagrania, EMI-HMV, Decca, Philips/Point Music, NVC Arts, Newport Classic, CRI, Thorofon Schallplatten, or Naxos; its recording of all Prokofiev’s piano concertos won the Diapason d’Or and Grand Prix du Disque de la Nouvelle Académie du Disque for Naxos in 1993. Recently, NOSPR and Antoni Wit received the prestigious Cannes Classical Award in the category of Midem Classique 2002 for the recording of the Turangalîla symphony by Olivier Messiaen (also for Naxos).
For its artistic achievement, the orchestra received many awards and honours conferred by the Republic of Poland.
