The French star Emmanuel Villaume is leaving Bratislava after having performed in 77 concerts within 7 years. That is the result of the accomplished mission of the chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonics."There is a rare combination of great artistic projects, artistic quality from the chorus and the orchestra, an amazing building of Reduta and the city, it's people and the community. People of Bratislava should be proud of it,"said the famous conductor at the farewell press conference in Bratislava last week. Apart from being the leader of the Slovak Philharmonic since 2009, Emmanuel Villaume was also involved with the Slovenian Philharmonic and became the Music Director of Dallas opera and the music director and chief conductor of the Prague Philharmonia which is one of the top ten philharmonic orchestras in the world. The Bratislava based Slovak Philharmonics will be now with no chief conductor for a year. In the season 2017/2018, it should be joined by British star James Judd.
Why has the Frenchman Emmanuel Villaume decided to leave so unexpectedly? "I said it earlier it's better to leave too early than too late. It's certainly a little too early but it corresponds to a concert cycle. We have achieved a lot of things here and it's about time for the orchestra to get new blood. My schedule is extremely tight, I needed to reorganise things. I think I'm leaving this institution from the musical point of view in the best possible shape," explained Emannuel Villaume.
During his 7 year mission in Slovakia, he presented several compositions including not only with the Philharmonic orchestra but also the Philharmonic choir. The ensemble has also staged more compositions as premieres; be it not only Slovak but also world premieres. Emanuel Villaume introduced many French composers to the local audiences and put the accent on playing even rarely presented compositions. He invited dozens of highly appreciated soloists for performing in the Slovak capital not only during the Bratislava music festival but also for regular concerts. He has left his post by conducting the Gustav Mahler's Symphony no 2 Auferstehung or Resurrection.
