Cyprus Symphony Names New Artistic Director

During a press conference last week at the Pallas Theatre in Nicosia, Günter Neuhold laid out his vision for the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra (CySO). This was followed by speeches from members of the board of directors, Musicians' Guild, and the concertmaster of the CySO, Wolfgang Schroeder.

The CySO also announced that it will receive additional funding from the government for the expansion of the orchestra from its current 45 members to 65.

"This is a great success and honour for both our orchestra and Cyprus, to have personalities of such international standing and caliber in the field of Music and in the broader field of Culture, in general," a representative of the orchestra wrote on its website.

Born in Graz, Austria, in 1947, Neuhold completed his studies at the Graz Conservatoire. He then studied in Rome with Franco Ferrara and in Vienna with Prof. Hans Swarowsky. Among his many accolades, he won the Remo “Marinuzzi” 1st prize, Vienna “Swarowsky” 2nd prize, Salzburg “Böhm” 1st prize, and Milan “Cantelli” 3rd prize.

He has held positions such as the Music Director at the Teatro Regio di Parma, Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica “Arturo Toscanini,” Chief Conductor and Musical Director of the Koninklijk Filharmonisch Orkest van Vlaanderen in Antwerp, General Music Director at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, General Music Director and Artistic Director at the Theater der Freien Hansestadt Bremen, and more recently, he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Bilbao.

Besides his permanent engagements, he has led the Vienna Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of France, the Radio Orchestra Tchaikovsky in Moscow, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the RAI Orchestra of Rome, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Tokyo — along with prominent international opera houses.