Bassem Akiki
© Ksawery Zamoyski
‘Verve and vehemence’
‘Bassem Akiki conducts... with verve and vehemence; the whole is meticulously rehearsed and impressively polished’
Bassem Akiki is a Lebanese–Polish conductor and composer whose inviduality and creative flair have taken him to theatres, festivals and orchestras around the world. Recent collaborators include Dutch National Opera, La Monnaie, Philharmonie de Paris, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Polish National Opera and Sinfonia Varsovia.
Informed by his own work as a composer, Akiki is a specialist in contemporary repertoire and has conducted the world premieres of many new works. Recent successes include Alexander Raskatov’s acclaimed Animal Farm at Dutch National Opera, which won the OPER! Award for world premiere of the year in 2023.
He frequently works at La Monnaie/De Munt, where he has conducted premieres of Björk’s Medúlla, Orfeo and Majnun, Mark Grey’s Frankenstein, and most recently Philippe Boesman’s final opera, On purge bébé.
Aside from conducting, Akiki is a scholar in the music of East and West and their mutual influence, giving lectures on the subject, and his interest in astronomy and prime numbers has influenced his recent compositions.
‘You communicate with the audience through the orchestra, singers and musicians, but you are also in communication with the composers and you must be faithful to their idea’
