MA signs two new conductors
We are delighted to welcome conductors Pablo Rus Broseta and Robert Houssart to the Maestro Arts roster.
Pablo Rus Broseta is currently Music Director of Jove Orquestra de la Generalitat Valenciana, having served as Assistant and then Associate Conductor of Seattle Symphony Orchestra between 2015 and 2019, and he frequently works with both SWR Symphonieorchester and Ensemble Modern.
He grew up in Valencia, with its wind band tradition, in which different generations come together to perform. He remembers: ‘Each village has its own band and every child joins in, so there is a mix of young and old, and you learn from everyone else. It’s special – an opportunity to develop a sense of community and connect with other people. You learn the flexibility needed to work with different types of people, so it has been an important influence on my way of working.’
Rus Broseta is a keen advocate of new music, having worked with composers such as Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Adès and Magnus Lindberg. He says: ‘I love new music because it gives me the opportunity to create sound. When you start from scratch and the orchestra doesn’t know a piece, you have a chance to build it from the beginning. It’s very interesting to give life to a new type of music or composition. With new commissions, you might only get two or three good pieces out of ten. That’s always a risk, but I like to take risks and when a new piece talks to you, it’s very special.’
Read the full interview with Pablo Rus Broseta
Robert Houssart serves as Resident Conductor at Royal Danish Opera, where he conducted the world premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen, and enjoys a close relationship with new music ensemble Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen.
He knew he wanted to be a conductor from the age of ten, when he saw Carlos Kleiber conducting on television, and having trained as an organist fell in love with opera in his 20s at English National Opera. He says, ‘I remember a Eureka moment watching Rhinegold, realising that music and drama belong together. I’d played so much pure music, such as Bach, where there is no theatre (not explicit, at least), but with Rhinegold I remember seeing and hearing the same thing happen and being completely overwhelmed. I thought, “I have to do this.”’
He made his conducting debut with the Australian premiere of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre at the Adelaide Festival and has gone on to conduct new music by today’s finest composers, including the world premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen at Royal Danish Opera, where he is resident conductor.
Houssart is optimistic about the future of opera and says, ‘There is a lot of interest in bringing different disciplines together now and people seem to be more curious about each other’s work. There seems to be an interest in art that uses everything possible to speak its message. Opera has a big part to play in this. Huge subjects call for huge canvases and I sense that people living in troubled times are looking for ways to express themselves, to come together in ever more powerful ways.’
Read the full interview with Robert Houssart
