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Robert Bachmann
Robert Bachmann, who became Associate Conductor of the Russian National Orchestra in 1999, is a conductor and composer whose talents and interests encompass the universe of music. Born in Switzerland in 1944, Bachmann’s musical talent soon became obvious and at the age of five he received his first piano lessons from the Swiss composer and folksong researcher AlfredLeonz Gassmann, who also instructed him in composition. He continued his musical training at the Lucerne Conservatory.
Rafael Kubelik credited the young Bachmann with “an outstanding talent for orchestral conducting” when he gained his first practical experience as administrator of Kubelik’s conducting course, held in association with the Lucerne International Music Festival in 1961/62. He completed his conducting studies in 1967 in Berlin as master student of Professor Herbert Ahlendorf and pupil of Herbert von Karajan at the Berlin Conservatory, formerly known as the “Stern’sches Konservatorium”, and at the Berlin Academy of Music.
Bachmann achieved international recognition in 1965 at the “Concours des jeunes chefs d’orchestre” in Besancon. During the same year he made his debut with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 at the “Festival international des jeunes artistes” in Leysin. In 1966 he was invited to assist GMD Ljubomir Romansky at the German opera house “Musiktheater im Revier” in Gelsenkirchen. He made his London debut in 1980, and since then has worked with such prestigious British orchestras as the Philharmonia, London
Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic. He first conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1989 and this collaboration resulted in their subsequent recording of the complete symphonies of Brahms.
His association with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra led to a highly acclaimed series of concerts dedicated to the work of Anton Bruckner, including the British premiere of the fully-completed 9th Symphony.
In 1992 Robert Bachmann had been invited by the Zagreb Philharmonic to conduct the concert for freedom and peace for Croatia and the Balkans. Since 1993 Bachmann has been Artistic Director of the Budapest Whitsun Festival where he conducted the Budapest Symphony and Budapest Philharmonic orchestras, including recordings for CD and television.
In addition to his activities as a conductor, Robert Bachmann concentrates on composing. With his transmedial work, ULURU, Bachmann has opened up new horizons in complex multidimensional tone structures with the world’s first cyber opera. ULURU has been recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and also has been performed in association with UNESCO by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. The non-linear composition has meanwhile grown into a cluster of several CD and DVD productions and is also accessible on the internet at http://www.uluru.org
Bachmann has made a name for himself as a musicologist with his publications on outstanding artistic personalities and related themes. He has a keen interest in the music of indigenous peoples, and field studies in music ethnology has led Bachmann to remote places in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, Polynesia and the High Arctic regions, thus allowing him to collect unique sound samples from throughout the world.
Robert Bachmann’s video and CD recordings with the Budapest Philharmonic, Budapest Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia and London Philharmonic orchestras have met with internationalrecognition. Bachmann’s interests extend beyond music into other artistic forms and concepts. In particular, he has long been fascinated by the expressive potential of multicultural, multidisciplinary projects bringing together diverse elements and influences. He also serves as an advisor to several music festivals and other cultural institutions. The World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland, has awarded the honorary title “Forum Fellow” to Robert Bachmann, who, in the capacity of one of the “Cultural Leaders” conducted the RNO at the 2000 World Economic Forum’s Jubilee Charity Concert in Davos.