Christian Kluxen
Christian Kluxen toimii yhdeksättä kauttaan Victoria Symphonyn taiteellisena johtajana ja kolmatta kauttaan Turun filharmonisen orkesterin päävierailijana.
Hänen viimeaikaisiin ja tuleviin vierailuihinsa lukeutuvat lisäksi muun muassa Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Oregonin ja Vancouverin sinfoniaorkesterit, Pacific Symphony, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Prahan radion sinfoniaorkesteri sekä Odensen, Aalborgin ja Norrköpingin sinfoniaorkesterit. Yhteistyö Arctic Philharmonicin kanssa on tuottanut lukuisia innostavia esityksiä sekä useita arvostettuja levytyksiä.
Kluxen on työskennellyt merkittävien orkestereiden kanssa kaikkialla maailmassa. Kotimaassaan Kluxenilla on läheiset suhteet useisiin orkestereihin, kuten Kööpenhaminan filharmonikkoihin ja Odensen sinfoniaorkesteriin. Kluxenin konsertteja on lähetetty suorana Tanskassa, Isossa-Britanniassa, Ruotsissa, Norjassa ja Kanadassa.
Kööpenhaminassa tanskalais-saksalaisille vanhemmille syntyneellä Kluxenilla on luonnollinen suhde germaaniseen ja skandinaaviseen ohjelmistoon, erityisesti Beethovenin, Brahmsin, Straussin, Nielsenin ja Sibeliuksen teoksiin. Kluxen tunnetaan vilpittömästä ja läpinäkyvästä johtajuudestaan, innovatiivisesta ohjelmasuunnittelustaan sekä rohkeista, mielikuvituksellisista ja energisistä tulkinnoistaan.
Now in his ninth season as Music Director of the Victoria Symphony in Canada, Christian Kluxen is also in
his third season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland, following a
five-year tenure as Chief Conductor of the Arctic Philharmonic in Norway.
Alongside his many and varied commitments with the Victoria Symphony and Turku Philharmonic
Orchestras, recent and forthcoming guest engagements include Orchestre Symphonique de
Quebec, Oregon Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Pacific Symphony, the Orchestra of Hessisches
Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Prague Radio Symphony, Copenhagen
Philharmonic, Odense Symphony, Aalborg Symphony and the Norrköping Symphony. A fruitful and
inspiring relationship with the Arctic Philharmonic resulted in numerous exhilarating performances of a
wide variety of repertoire, as well as several acclaimed recordings.
Kluxen has worked with major orchestras throughout the world including the Philharmonia, London
Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, RTÉ National Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony, Malmö Symphony,
Iceland Symphony, Trondheim Symphony, Strasbourg Philharmonic, and Netherlands Philharmonic
orchestras, L’Orchestra dell’Arena di Verona, in Australasia with the Auckland Philharmonia and
Tasmanian Symphony orchestras, and in the US with the Oregon and Pacific Symphonies. During the
2014/15 season Kluxen held the Dudamel Fellowship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, acting as
assistant conductor to Gustavo Dudamel and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Kluxen enjoys close relationships with several orchestras in his home country, including the Copenhagen
Philharmonic and Odense Symphony, and in May 2019 stepped in at short notice for concerts with the
Danish National Symphony Orchestra, replacing Yuri Temirkanov in concerts broadcast live on Danish
National Radio.
On the operatic stage Kluxen has conducted extensive tours of Don Giovanni and Madama
Butterfly with the Danish National Opera, followed by his Berlin conducting debut with Die Zauberflöte at
Komische Oper. In 2017 he led highly successful performances of Die Fledermaus with Aarhus Symphony
Orchestra and Ariadne auf Naxos with Arctic Opera and Philharmonic with soprano Lise Davidsen in the
title role. In 2019 his focus was on Bizet’s Carmen, which he led in two full productions; in Denmark at
Opera Hedeland and in Norway with Arctic Opera and Philharmonic.
Kluxen’s concerts have been broadcast live in Denmark, the UK, Sweden, Norway, and Canada. His
most recent albums with the Arctic Philharmonic are Lasse Thoresen’s The Sound of the Arctic, which has
garnered outstanding praise including five stars from Politiken, and Eldbjørg Hemsing’s concept album
Arctic, recipient of Germany’s Opus Klassik. He has received several prestigious awards and prizes and in
2016 was nominated by the International Opera Awards as Young Conductor of the Year.
Born in Copenhagen to Danish-German parents, Kluxen feels a natural affinity towards Germanic and
Scandinavian repertoire, particularly the works of Beethoven, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Nielsen, and
Sibelius. In 2020 he released a recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto on the Simax label, featuring
violinist Henning Kraggerud and the Arctic Philharmonic. Danish newspaper Politiken praised the disc
for its “surprisingly beautiful orchestra sound, “kept in a slim, sober expression with a punch to it”, and
labelled it as “almost too perfect”.