Christian Arming
CONDUCTOR
"Arming is an extremely graceful conductor and under his hand the romanticism of this most muscular and exuberant of the four Schumann symphonies [No. 3] came beautifully to light. He caressed phrasings in the third movement, brought out all the dancing/drinking song character of the scherzo, and [the] fourth movement was nobility itself."
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY
THE VANCOUVER SUN
BIOGRAPHY
On both the symphonic stage and in the opera house, Christian Arming is a highly sought-after conductor in North America, Europe, and Asia. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Hiroshima Orchestra in Japan. Mr. Arming has been Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège in Belgium, the New Japan Orchestra in Tokyo, and the Lucerne Opera Theatre and Orchestra. At the age of 24, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava, Czech Republic, a position he held from 1996 – 2002. Recent North American highlights include debut engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and the Fort Worth Symphony, as well as return engagements with the Aspen Chamber Orchestra and the Round Top Festival (Texas). In North America, Mr. Arming has also conducted the Boston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Houston, Colorado, Fort Worth, New Jersey, Utah, and Vancouver symphonies. A regular guest conductor in Asia, he has worked with the NHK/Tokyo and Shanghai symphonies, in addition to the philharmonic orchestras of Taiwan and Malaysia. He has also toured Japan with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège. Since conducting the Czech Philharmonic at the opening concert of the Prague Spring Festival in May 2003, Christian Arming has been well-known in Europe. Among the top European orchestras he has conducted are the Staatskapelle Dresden, Deutsches Sinfonieorchester, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, NDR Hamburg, Mozarteum/Salzburg, Vienna Symphony, Polish National Radio Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Prague Symphony, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Barcelona Symphony, Belgium National, Capitole de Toulouse, and the RAI Turin. Equally at home with operatic repertoire, Mr. Arming’s 1997 debut at the Salzburg Festival led to two immediate re-engagements. Since then he has worked with the opera companies in Prague, Trieste, Lucerne, Strasbourg, and Frankfurt, as well as the Cincinnati Opera in the U.S. He also regularly returns to Tokyo to conduct opera productions in the Japanese capital. Christian Arming’s discography includes a 2018 Deutsche Grammophon release with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège and the Sirba Octet, a unique Klezmer ensemble made up of musicians from the Orchestre de Paris. He has also recorded for the Arte Nova and Rosa Classic labels with the Janáček Philharmonic; the Fontec label with the New Japan Philharmonic; Wagner arias with Russian bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin for the Naïve label, in addition to a recording of the Frank Symphony in D Minor with the Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which won the Diapason d’Or. Born in Vienna, Mr. Arming studied conducting under Leopold Hager at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Seiji Ozawa, a long-time mentor and supporter, introduced Mr. Arming to audiences in Boston and Japan, where he continues to be an important presence in the orchestral and operatic scenes.
MEDIA
Christian Arming
PRESS ACCLAIM
ORCHESTRE PHILHARMONIQUE ROYAL DE LIÈGE
“Music director of the OPRL since 2011, Austrian conductor Christian Arming has an exceptional gift: to express the singular emotion of each instant throughout the interpretation ... It was with joy and emotion that the public could experience this intense feeling of an almost unbearable climb, culminating in the grandiose coda.” [Bruckner Symphony No. 8]
CRESCENDO MAGAZINE
“This is not the first time that we have noticed the high level to which Christian Arming has brought the Liège Philharmonic, both in the precision and the general high quality of its playing.”
CLASSICA
ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY
“… Austrian conductor Christian Arming, who has made a fine name for himself around the world, created an outstanding evening at Powell Symphony Hall … The program’s curtain-raiser was ‘Sarka,’ the third segment in Bedrich Smetana’s tone poem Má vlast (My Country). Arming provided a clear account of the tale, effectively bringing out each aspect of Sarka’s plot … Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, ‘Spring,’ followed the Smetana … Arming invested it with an engaging energy that carried the promise of spring. Animated and fresh, this performance made a strong case for a symphony that’s not often heard.”
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY
“Arming is an extremely graceful conductor and under his hand the romanticism of this most muscular and exuberant of the four Schumann symphonies [No. 3] came beautifully to light. He caressed phrasings in the third movement, brought out all the dancing/drinking song character of the scherzo, and the fourth movement was nobility itself.”
THE VANCOUVER SUN
ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL
“[Arming] drew idiomatic playing from the orchestra … His mastery of the long arc of the music and ability to communicate pace and intensity built up irresistible momentum.”[Mahler Symphony No. 9]
ASPEN TIMES
UTAH SYMPHONY
“Christian Arming led the orchestra in a dramatically satisfying performance of Brahms’s ‘Tragic’ Overture and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 … He got an especially fine performance from the string players; their articulation in the devilishly fast passages that open the second movement was particularly noteworthy.”
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
DISCOGRAPHY
Taras Bulba
Suite "From the House of the Dead"
The Ballad of Blanik
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra
Arte Nova Classics
BRUCKNER
Symphony No. 7
New Japan Philharmonic
Fontec
VERDI
Requiem
New Japan Philharmonic
Fontec
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 9
New Japan Philharmonic
with Ritsuyukai Choir
Fontec
MAHLER
Das klagende Lied
New Japan Philharmonic
Fontec
Symphony in D Minor
Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
DIAPASON D'OR
Fuga Libera
Opera arias
Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
with Evgeny Nikitin, bass-baritone
Naïve
Complete Works
for Violin and Orchestra,
for Cello and Orchestra
Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
with Soloists of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel
Zig Zag (3-CD set)
