Dirk Kaftan

Dirk Kaftan (born 1971) is a German opera and concert conductor.

Dirk Kaftan
Kaftan's debut as GMD in Graz with Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder in 2013
Born1971 (age 48–49)
Marburg
EducationHochschule für Musik Detmold
OccupationConductor
Organization
AwardsKarl-Böhm-Interpretationspreis

Career

Born in Marburg, Germany, Kaftan grew up in Wittlich and Canada. At the age of 18 he began employment as a repetiteur at the Theater Trier. Kaftan then studied sound engineering (Tonmeister) at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold.

Kaftan was Erster Kapellmeister at the Graz Opera from 2006 to 2009. From 2009 to 2014 he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) in Augsburg. His contract with the Theater Augsburg was to have run till 2016; however he vacated the Augsburg post early to return to Graz Opera as their GMD.[1] His debut in June 2013 was a performance of Schönberg's monumental Gurre-Lieder with soloists, the expanded opera chorus, the Wiener Singverein and the Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester.[2][3] Kaftan was GMD of Graz Opera from 2013 to 2017.[4] In Graz he conducted Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Puccini's La Rondine, Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg, Dallapiccola's Der Gefangene and Bernstein's West Side Story, among others. In concert he conducted the oratorio Columbus by Heinrich von Herzogenberg.[5] In 2015 Kaftan was awarded the Karl-Böhm-Interpretationspreis by the Styrian state government for his work in developing the Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester.[6]

Kaftan's operatic repertoire has also included Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser and Die Walküre; Verdi's Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida and Don Carlos; Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin; Arabella by Richard Strauss; and Stravinsky's ballet Le sacre du printemps.[7]

In February 2016 Kaftan was named as the next GMD of the city of Bonn, including the directorship of the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, effective August 2017 with an initial contract of five years.[8] He conducted the first series of concerts of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in 2017, performing Alban Berg's Violin Concerto with Liza Ferschtman as soloist, and Bruckner's Fourth Symphony at seven locations, including Hamm and Marburg.[9][10]

Recordings

Kaftan's recordings include the operas Der ferne Klang by Franz Schreker, recorded live in Augsburg in 2011,[11] and Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček, recorded during staged performances in Graz in 2015.[12][13]

References
  1. Ute Krogull (2013-02-15). "Dirk Kaftan: Der Generalmusikdirektor geht nach Graz". Augsburger Allegemeine. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  2. "Saisonabschluss mit Gurre-Liedern in Grazer Oper". Kleine Zeitung (in German). 24 June 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  3. "Grazer Chefdirigent Dirk Kaftan geht nach Bonn: Vertrag unterzeichnet" (in German). Tiroler Tageszeitung. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  4. "Oper Graz: Oksana Lyniv wird neue Chefdirigentin" (in German). ORF. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. "Dirk Kaftan" (in German). Graz Opera. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  6. "Dirk Kaftan erhält den Karl-Böhm-Interpretationspreis 2015" (in German). Steiermark. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. Althoff, Bernward (12 February 2016). "Generalmusikdirektor Dirk Kaftan / In Erwartung des neuen Musikchefs" (in German). Bonner Rundschau. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  8. "Dirk Kaftan soll neuer Generalmusikdirektor werden" (in German). Bonn. 26 February 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  9. "International Concert Listings". brucknerjournal.co.uk. 2017. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  10. "Mit Berg und Bruckner ins Konzertjahr der Nordwestdeutschen Philharmonie". Neue Westfälische (in German). 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  11. Stefan Dosch (2011-07-12). "Der ferne Klang rückt nah heran". Augsburger Allegemeine. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  12. "Dirk Kaftan / Discography". AllMusic. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  13. Braun, William R. (January 2016). "Janáček: Jenůfa". Opera News. 80 (7). Retrieved 2017-07-08.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Rudolf Piehlmayer		 Generalmusikdirektor, Theater Augsburg
2009–2014		 Succeeded by
Domonkos Héja
Preceded by
Johannes Fritzsch		 Generalmusikdirektor, Graz Opera
2013–2017		 Succeeded by
Oksana Lyniv
Preceded by
Christof Perick		 Generalmusikdirektor, Beethoven Orchester Bonn
2017–present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
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