Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo

Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
Sala São Paulo
Background information
Also known as	OSESP
Origin	São Paulo, Brazil
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Symphony orchestra
Years active	1954-present
Website	www.osesp.art.br
Past members
Founder Souza Lima

Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP) (São Paulo State Symphony) is a symphony orchestra based in São Paulo, Brazil. With more than 130 concerts during its annual season, it is one of the largest and best known orchestras in South America.

Background

With broad-based programming, juxtaposing the great works of international classical music with world premieres and pieces by Brazilian composers, OSESP brings to Brazil some of the major current soloists and conductors, such as Kurt Masur, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Osmo Vänskä, and Marin Alsop, singers such as Barbara Hendricks, Nathalie Stutzmann and Sergei Leiferkus, pianists Stephen Kovacevich, Maria João Pires, Paul Lewis and Nelson Freire, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, cellist Antonio Meneses, and violinists Pinchas Zukerman, Leila Josefowicz and Leonidas Kavakos, among the more than 60 visiting artists each year.

Founded by Sousa Lima in 1954, OSESP alternated between periods of success and great difficulty, including a hiatus in its activities. After Italian conductor, Bruno Roccela’s stay, the group was under the command of Eleazar de Carvalho for 24 years, until his death in 1996.

Under the direction of John Neschling from 1997 to 2008, the orchestra went through major transformations which positioned them as a reference for quality and excellence in the fields of art, culture, and education in Brazil.

With the support of the State Government, the Eleazar de Carvalho Musical Documentation Center was founded, and Osesp launched an orchestral subscription series, various educational programs and volunteer groups, a publisher for scores called “Criadores do Brasil,” and a Music Academy (founded 2006, hosting 20 students per year). It also initiated a partnership with the Swedish recording company BIS to launch more than 20 CDs of the orchestra’s performances, as well as an on-going partnership with Brazilian label Biscoito Fino. The more than 40 CDs that have been recorded to date by OSESP include all the symphonies of Camargo Guarnieri, Francisco Braga’s opera Jupyra, works by Francisco Mignone and Claudio Santoro, and Villa-Lobos's complete Bachianas Brasileiras and Choros. Beginning 2011, the orchestra will start recording the complete cycle of eleven symphonies by Villa-Lobos, conducted by Isaac Karabtchevsky, for the Naxos label. For the same label it will also begin a complete cycle of Prokofiev's symphonies, conducted by the new Chief Conductor, Marin Alsop.

The former Symphonic Chorus of the State of São Paulo was incorporated into the OSESP, thus creating the Symphonic Chorus and the Chamber Chorus (Naomi Munakata, conductor). Also created was the Children’s Chorus (Teruo Yoshida, conductor) and in 2004, the Teenagers’ Chorus (Yoshida).

Over the last years, OSESP has toured Brazil, Latin America, the United States and Europe. The latest tour in Europe (2010, including Vienna, Salzburg, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Madrid and other places) has already led to invitations to a return trip in 2013.

Since 2005, the orchestra has been run by the OSESP Foundation, a non-profit organization presided by former President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Government support (from the State of São Paulo) amounts to more than 60% of the budget; the rest comes from private funding, ticket sales and subscribers.

In January 2009 it was announced that Neschling's contract with OSESP was rescinded with immediate effect by the orchestra's governing board. The French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier was named Chief Conductor for 2010 and 2011, after one year as principal guest. From January 2010, music scholar and writer Arthur Nestrovski was named Artistic Director, in charge of programming, educational activities, publications and outreach programs. In February, 2011 it was announced that Marin Alsop would become Chief Conductor with a five year contract beginning in 2012. Tortelier will remain as Principal Guest Conductor.^[1] Celso Antunes will be the Associate Conductor (2012-16).

Sala São Paulo

In 1999, Sala São Paulo opened as a concert hall and the new home of OSESP. It occupies buildings of the imposing Júlio Prestes Station, and it can accommodate 1,499 spectators.

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  OSESP in Sala São Paulo.

References

1. ^ "Orchestra's official site". http://www.osesp.art.br/portal/paginadinamica.aspx?pagina=orquestra. Retrieved 27 July 2011. 

External links

• Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo official website