Hendrik Vestmann, an expert in the Mozart repertoire, current general director of music at the Oldenburg State Theater and regular guest at the Berlin Comic Opera, will conduct the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time in a concert that includes Tito’s Clemency , K.621: Overture; the Ave verum corpus, K.618; and the Requiem K.626. The choir of the Municipal of Santiago joins the orchestra, under the direction of Jorge Klastornick; as well as soloists Andrea Aguilar (soprano), María Luisa Merino (mezzo-soprano), Gonzalo Quinchahual (tenor) and Pablo Santa Cruz (bass-baritone).

A new international debut will have the season of the Municipal Theater of Santiago this Tuesday 3. The Estonian Hendrik Vestmann, current general director of music of the Oldenburg State Theater and regular guest of the Berlin Comic Opera, will shake the baton in front of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago in “Todo Mozart”, a concert dedicated to the composer of one of the most famous repertoires.

On May 3, 4, 5 and 7, the Mozartian expert will tackle La clemencia de Tito, K.621: Overture; the Ave verum corpus, K.618; and the Requiem K.626. In this task, the Choir of the Municipal de Santiago, directed by Jorge Klastonick, will join the orchestra, as well as the outstanding national soloists Andrea Aguilar (soprano), María Luisa Merino (mezzo-soprano), Gonzalo Quinchahual (tenor) and Pablo Santa Cruz (bass). -baritone).

“We continue with a concert season that focuses on the ductility and quality of the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians, as well as the Choir of the Municipal Theater of Santiago, who on this occasion will perform a program dedicated to Mozart, a figure constant and fundamental in each season. And what better than this happening under the baton of a Mozartian expert, a regular at the Berlin Comic Opera, such as Hendrik Vestamnn”, says Carmen Gloria Larenas, general director of the Municipal Theater of Santiago.

“Mozart has been with me since I was 11 or 12 years old, when I received a Don Giovanni cassette and I was fascinated. In Germany and Austria, I have conducted the most important operas of his, with The Magic Flute of the Opéra Comique Berlin being the most important production for me”, notes Hendrik Vestmann. “This is my first time in Chile and South America, which is great. I invite you all to come to our concert, with fantastic music and also a fantastic orchestra, choir and soloists”.

Composed in 1791 during Mozart’s stay in the Austrian town of Baden, the Ave verum corpus, K. 618 was commissioned by the organist and choirmaster Anton Stoll for his parish on the occasion of the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi. It stands out musically for its candidness, simplicity and solemnity, while its lyrics are based on a medieval religious hymn.

Tito’s Clemency, K.621: Overture, meanwhile, was commissioned by the theater impresario Domenico Guardasoni for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia, premiered in 1791 at the National Theater in Prague. Although it falls within the musical aesthetics of opera seria, its score has an atmosphere of melodic naturalness and gallant lyricism that is absolutely Mozartian.

For his part, the Requiem K.626 is one of Mozart’s last works and, by the way, one of the best known and most mysterious that he made. Marked by the obsession with the idea of ​​the death of its author, this mass for the dead presented for the first time in 1973 continues to move us due to its beauty, craftsmanship and expressiveness. It is a remarkable example of his mature style, harmonically more daring and possessing unprecedented drama and pathos.

Hendrik Vestmann, a Mozartian expert

Hendrik Vestmann was born in the Estonian city of Tartu, he trained at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater in Tallinn, as well as with Wolf-Dieter Hauschild at the Karlsruhe University of Music. Since 2001, he has conducted numerous orchestras, including the NDR Radiophilharmonie; the symphony orchestras of Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Bochum, Wuppertal, Nuremberg, Western Australia and NDR Radio; and the Tampere and Graz Philharmonic Orchestras.

His operatic career began at the Heidelberg Opera. Later, he was Music Director of the Tartu Opera, First Kapellmeister and Deputy Music Director of the Münster Opera House, and Chief Music Director of the Bonn Opera. While as a guest conductor, Hendrik Vestmann has conducted at such opera houses as the National Theater Mannheim, the German Opera on the Rhine, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the Hannover Opera, the St. Gallen Opera and the Graz Opera. He also conducted the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra on tour and was invited to conduct the Western Australian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras.

In 2006 he won the Hermann-Abendroth Prize in Weimar and was a finalist and laureate in the German Conductors Prize.