Korngold finale… And Stockholm jump-in!

It was the week that was, a last-minute jump in at Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra on 8 February squeezed in between final performances of the widely acclaimed Die tote Stadt with Netherlands Reisopera, met with great applause. As Antony said himself, “we rocked it completely…!!!”

The Netherlands Reisopera production of Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, directed by Jakob Peters-Messer, began in December and received praise from the get go, receiving 5-star reviews across the board. “The North Netherlands Orchestra plays at an unbelievably high level. Under the guidance of that driving-force Antony Hermus, the gilded, glistening silver notes drip from Korngold’s staves. Hermus and his orchestra give us a fantastic impression of how the young composer transformed his creative genius into music full of delights and even frivolity” Trouw, December 2018.

Stepping in to replace Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla to conduct the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra on 8 February, Antony led a programme of Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture and Brahms Symphony No.2, with Unsuk Chin’s fiercely challenging Piano Concerto in between, featuring soloist Francesco Piemontesi. The exciting programme was broadcast live in Europe on Swedish Radio, available to listen HERE.

Antony joins a long list of top conductors to have performed at the Berwaldhallen in Stockholm, and was delighted to write his name on the wall alongside some of his conducting heroes including Sergiu Celibidache and Herbert Blomstedt.