conductor

JONATHAN BRANDANI (Italy, 1983) is currently Assistant Conductor of the Yale Philharmonia at Yale University (U.S.A.), where he collaborates with conductors Shinik Hahm, James Conlon, Krzysztof Penderecki, Helmut Rilling and Peter Oundjian.

He has conducted a.o. the Wiener Kammer Orchester, Russian National Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, Orchestra Filarmonica Puccini, Webern Symphonie Orchester, Maribor International Orchestra, Haydn Symphonietta, Delphi Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica di Firenze, ProArte Orchester Wien, Royal Camerata Bucharest and the Webern Studio Chor. He is conductor of the New Haven Chamber Orchestra.

He has been recently appointed Resident Artist Coach at Minnesota Opera for the 2014-2015 season. In 2012 he was appointed Music Director of LuccaOperaFestival (Lucca, Italy); since then he conducted new productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan Tutte and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Next engagements include performances of Don Pasquale (June 2014), L'elisir d'amore (July 2014) and Tosca (August 2014). He conducted Le Nozze di Figaro and Haendel’s Ariodante at the Opera House at Schönbrunn Castle in Vienna (2011-2012) and worked as Music Director at the Sommertraum Festival am Semmering (Austria) where he conducted Don Giovanni and Die Entführung aus dem Serail (2012). From 2008 to 2010 he has worked as Répétiteur and as Musical Assistant to Maestro Enrico Calesso at the Opera productions of the Festival Oper Klosterneuburg (Austria) (Don Giovanni, La Fille du régiment, Carmen), working with singers from the team of the Wiener Staatsoper and Wiener Volksoper.

A passionate interpreter and scholar of Early Music, Jonathan has been playing harpsichord and organ continuo with several renowned European Early Music ensembles like Concerto Köln, I Barocchisti and Coro della Radiotelevisione Svizzera, ArteMusica, Oltremontano playing regularly a.o. at major international Festivals like OudeMusiek Utrecht, Opéra Royal Versailles, KölnOper, Internationale Barocktage Melk, ArteMusica Milano. He has been working with renowned singers such as Philippe Jarrousky, Max Emmanuel Cencic, Vivica Genaux and has been recording for Deutsche Grammophon, VIRGIN Classics, ORF, Radio4 Netherlands/AVRO, RSI, Bongiovanni. As a soloist he has recorded a CD dedicated to the organ music of Domenico Puccini (grandfather of the well-known composer Giacomo Puccini – for Punctus Studio 2008).

Jonathan is also founder, conductor and artistic director of L’Eloquenza, a period instrument ensemble devoted a.o. to the performance and rediscovery of long-forgotten compositions from the early Baroque to the Classical period, which has been rescued from oblivion by Jonathan Brandani, who pursues an insightful research activity of musical resources. Jonathan received the bursary Theodor Körner Fonds 2010 of the Austrian Republic for his researches in the field of baroque and classical music of composers from Tuscany.

He studied Orchestra Conducting under the guidance of Mark Stringer at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, where he graduated with full marks and honours in June 2012. At the same University he has also studied Opera Conducting/Répétiteur with Konrad Leitner and Choir Conducting with Erwin Ortner. He could also benefit from the useful teachings a.o. of Daniel Harding, Zubin Mehta, Colin Metters, Alexander Polishchuk, Klaus Arp and Piero Bellugi. He studied Piano with Simone Soldati and graduated with full marks and cum laude at the Istituto Musicale “P. Mascagni“ in Livorno (Italy): he subsequently studied with Andrea Lucchesini and Enrico Stellini at the Accademia di Musica in Pinerolo (Torino, Italy).

He won a bursary of the Wagner Stipendienstiftung (2003), the Ist Prize at 14° Concorso Nazionale “Daniele Ridolfi” (2005), the IInd Prize at I° Concorso Nazionale “Roberto Zucchi” (2005) and he attended Piano masterclasses by Pietro de Maria, Konstantin Bogino and Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. He specialized in Harpsichord under the guidance of Francesco Cera (Rome) and Wolfgang Glüxam (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna); he also won the Ist Prize at the National Harpsichord competition ‘Terzo Musica’ in 2010 and deepened his knowledge of the performance practice of early music studying with renowned specialists like Reinhard Goebel, Bob van Asperen and Fabio Bonizzoni. He also studied Musicology at the University of Pavia, Organ with Roberto Menichetti and Organ Improvisation with Stefano Rattini and Fausto Caporali in Cremona; he also attended further Masterclasses with Pier Damiano Peretti, Jürgen Essl, Fréderic Blanc, Joris Verdin, Edoardo Bellotti, Giancarlo Parodi. He also studied Composition in Italy (Istituto Musicale ‚P. Mascagni’ in Livorno and Istituto Musicale ‚L.Boccherini’ in Lucca), and in Austria (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna). He won the 2nd prize in the 8th National Composition Competition “R.Toscano” (Pescara,), he was finalist at the National Competition 'Comunità Evangelica Luterana’ (Napoli) and his works has also been performed at the Wien Modern Festival for New Music (Vienna 2009).