A Mozart evening with Maxim Emelyanychev and Sabine Devieilhe

Conductor? Pianist? Either or, says Maxim Emelyanychev, who is equally successful on the podium and at the piano: “The main thing is music! The most important thing is to love what you’re doing and to commit yourself fully to it”. Growing up with the reputation of a child prodigy and winning countless prizes, the thirty-something, who is now one of the most fascinating artists of his generation, made his acclaimed conducting debut at the age of just 12 and went on to become a regular guest with leading Russian orchestras: “In fact, Mozart used to be my nickname in the boys’ choir in Nizhny Novgorod, where I studied,” he says. “I didn’t take it seriously – a nickname is just a nickname. But Mozart is indeed one of my favourite composers.” After training in his home town of Nizhny Novgorod, Emelyanychev moved to Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied piano and harpsichord as well as conducting under Gennady Rozhdestvensky. For many years he played as a harpsichordist under the direction of Teodor Currentzis until he took over the direction of the Italian Baroque ensemble Il pomo d’oro, with whom he made award-winning recordings. In autumn 2019, Emelyanychev, who is a regular guest of international symphony orchestras and opera houses, was appointed principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, which promptly extended his contract immediately after he took up the post until 2025. In these concerts, Maxim Emelyanychev makes his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Sabine Devieilhe is one of the most sought-after Mozart singers of our time: a multi-award-winning vocal artist who seems to know no technical limits and, as a singing actress, with her coloratura soprano which is as ethereal as it is rich in colour and substance, not only knows how to breathe life into Mozart’s complex stage characters. The best prerequisites for a stellar career that has taken her to the great stages in Paris, Milan, London, Vienna, Munich as well as to the festivals in Salzburg and Glyndebourne – a career which, however, was not initially planned. The Normandy-born musician first studied cello and musicology before devoting herself entirely to her voice training. While still studying, Sabine Devieilhe gave concerts under the direction of Emmanuelle Haïm, Marc Minkowski and Hervé Niquet with original sound ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants, Les Musiciens du Louvre and Le Concert Spirituel. Her signature roles include the breathtaking coloratura parts of Mozart’s Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Offenbach’s Olympia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and the title roles of Bellini’s La sonnambula and Delibes’ Lakmé. Sabine Devieilhe is also in demand worldwide as a lieder and concert singer, appearing regularly at venues such as the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London’s Wigmore Hall and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. In these concerts, she makes her debut at the Philharmonie Berlin.