Born in 1988, the conductor Jonathan Bloxham is an unusually versatile artist whose »innate musicality« is very much esteemed. Alongside his »deep knowledge and understand of the symphonic repertoire« (Paavo Järvi), Bloxham also has great passion for contemporary music.

This British artist began his musical career as a cellist. Having already won several awards, he gave his solo concerto debut in the Philharmonie Berlin. In his role as conductor, he works with well-known ensembles, most recently with the City Chamber Orchestra Hong Kong, with the RTE Concert Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and, as cover conductor with the New York Philharmonic. Until 2018, Bloxham was also Assistant Conductor with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In Summer 2019 he assisted in Glyndebourne with “Rusalka” and in 2020 he will be directing productions of “Madame Butterfly”. Bloxham is also Founder and Artistic Director of the Northern Chords Festivals.

This season, debuts will see him with The Philharmonic Orchestra of Luxemburg and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Bloxham is a founder member of the Busch Trio, with whom he performed until 2015 and during which time it won several awards. He continues to play chamber music with some of the most renowned musicians. Many concertgoers local to Bremen will remember Bloxham’s thrilling debut at the 2018 ›Summer in Lesmona‹ for many years to come.

Nigel Kennedy is, without a doubt, one of the most dazzling eccentrics of the classical music scene and is at the same time acknowledged as one of the world’s leading violin virtuosos. At the age of seven Kennedy was spotted by the great Yehudi Menuhin, who offered him a scholarship at the Yehudi Menuhin School and agreed to pay all of his fees. From the age of 16, he studied under celebrated teacher Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He was also repeatedly invited to appear with leading jazz violoinist Stéphane Grappelli, who introduced him to jazz improvisation.

Kennedy’s international career took off with his performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in London’s Royal Festival Hall in 1977 with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti. Since then, he has been a household name and one of the most sought-after violinists of our time. Three years later, in 1980, he made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, followed by regular appearances with both the Berliner Philharmoniker and many of the world’s top orchestras and directors.

His legendary version of Vivaldi’s »Four Seasons« was released in 1990, which at over 5 million copies is the best-selling classical album ever. Kennedy’s first highly acclaimed recording of Elgar’s Violin Concerto was named »Record of the Year« by »Gramophone Magazine« in 1985. His second Vivaldi album with the Berliner Philharmoniker won an ECHO Klassik in the category »best rendering of 18th century music« and the highest Austrian award for classical music, the Amadeus Award. Kennedy’s recordings of the concertos by Bach, Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Bruch, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Walton have all been best-sellers, likewise his chamber music recordings and recital CDs. As a musician who is always testing his limits, Kennedy returned to his artistic roots and again took on Vivaldi’s »Four Seasons« a good quarter of a century after the first recording. The result of this project was the album »The New Four Seasons« released on the Sony Classical label in 2015. In 2016, the CD »My World« was released by Neue Meister / edel and in 2018 Warner Classics brought out the CD »Kennedy meets Gershwin«.