Marc Albrecht
Marc Albrecht is one of the most exciting conductors on the current opera and concert scene. He is in great demand internationally as a conductor of the German-Austrian late romantic repertoire, reaching from Wagner and Strauss to Zemlinsky, Schreker and Korngold. He also cultivates with conviction the whole range from Mozart to contemporary music.
Albrecht’s work with orchestras originates from a chamber music approach, which he transfers to the large orchestra with great empathy: he has a passion for symphony orchestras and knows how to exploit their almost infinite sound possibilities, however at the same time, trying to make the symphonic blend emulate a sound reminiscent of the intimacy of a chamber ensemble. In an astonishing way he succeeds, even in the densely woven symphonies of Bruckner and Mahler, to make the structure clear and let the music breathe, despite all the sound opulence. Albrecht’s approach to music making is a perfect balance of both the analytical and the emotional.
His artistic work has been honoured prolifically in recent years. Under his Music Directorship, the Dutch National Opera was named Europe’s “Opera House of the Year” in 2016. In 2019, Marc Albrecht was named “Conductor of the Year” at the International Opera Awards and one year later was awarded Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion for his extensive oeuvre. He also received the Prix d’Amis 2020 which is awarded annually by the Friends of Dutch National Opera. Furthermore, the 2017 production of Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck” at the Dutch National Opera was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category “Best Opera Recording” in 2019.
Marc Albrecht has also recorded to great acclaim. His highly-praised recording of “Die Seejungfrau” with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (Pentatone, 2020) has been chosen as Recording of the Week by BBC Radio 3 and The Sunday Times comments “Albrecht inspires his orchestra in this late-Romantic score, intoxicated with the chromatic ecstasy of Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night.” The DVD of the lauded production of Korngold’s “Das Wunder der Heliane” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin under Albrecht’s musical direction, released on NAXOS in June 2019, won the 2020 Opus Klassik in the category “Best Opera Recording 20th/21st Century”. In a review about the production, the Berliner Morgenpost concluded that, “The real miracle of the evening happens in the pit. Marc Albrecht savours Korngold’s sound intoxication for a good three hours. With great pleasure he devotes himself to the details that emerge from the waves of sound, exposing layers, only to let them melt together again immediately”.
Together with Christine Goerke, Stephen Gould and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Marc Albrecht returned to the BBC Proms in 2019 with a spectacular “Wagner Night” which earned him a raving review on Bachtrack: “Albrecht lifted this listener out of the concert hall and deposited me in a baleful landscape the like of which I’d never previously encountered in this music. By the careful highlighting of specific solos or sections, then allowing balance to follow naturally, he did more than conquer the Royal Albert Hall’s exuberant acoustic: he exploited it.”