MILAN TURKOVIC
World Renown Conductor & Bassoonist
Milan Turkovic is of Austrian-Croatian descent. He grew up in Vienna and has internationally been considered one of the most famous bassoon soloists in the world. In recent decades, he has become a successful conductor, making appearances all over the world.
He is universally regarded as one of the top bassoonists of all time.
CONDUCTOR
He has conducted in countless cities around the world, including Vienna, Salzburg, Graz, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, London, Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Prague, Krakow, Bratislava, New York, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Lima, Santiago de Chile and Brisbane with orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony, the Vienna Radio Symphony, Munich Radio Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, the Orchestra di Padova, The Rome Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica G. Verdi of Milan, the Krakow Philharmonic, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Nagoya Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Taiwan, the Prague Philharmonia, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and the Austro-Hungarian-Philharmonic.
The notable Japanese music magazine “Ongaku No Tomo” listed him in a shortlist as one of the twenty most interesting conductors in the Tokyo music scene. A recipient of the Edison Award, he also received the German “Echo Klassik” Award in 2010. He is regularly the principal conductor at the Japanese Festival of Kusatsu. He has worked with the many world famous soloists including: Mischa Maisky, Jan Vogler, Benjamin Schmid, Vadim Repin, Georg Breinschmid, Michael Schade, Xavier de Maistre, Gábor Boldoczki, Sergei Nakariakov, Sara Mingardo, Lise de la Salle and many others.
DISCOPRAPHY
His discography currently consists of 9 CDs as a conductor, 15 CDs with solo repertoire, 26 CDs with chamber music and over 200 CDs with Concentus Musicus. He has recorded the Mozart bassoon concerto four times; his third recording was performed on a period instrument, with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting. Other releases include the concerti by C.M.v. Weber (with Marriner), the quintet for bassoon and strings “Meeelaan” by Wynton Marsalis and a double CD “Bassoon Extravaganza”. On his most recent CDs he conducted three symphonies by J. Haydn and two CDs with the German Ensemble Selmer Saxharmonic (Echo Klassik award in 2010).
SOLO BASSOONIST
As a soloist Milan Turkovic has performed at numerous musical centers of the world with renowned orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony, Stockholm Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Solisti Italiani, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Camerata Salzburg, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Mozart Festival Orchestra (New York), The English Concert, NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo) and the F. Liszt Chamber Orchestra (Budapest). He has worked with such conductors as Eschenbach, Giulini, Harnoncourt, Marriner, Pinnock, Sawallisch, Stein, Vegh among others. He was a member of Concentus Musicus Wien, of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and a founding member of Ensemble Wien-Berlin.
Milan Turkovic has appeared at important festivals all over the world, including Salzburg, Vienna, Lucerne, Lockenhaus, Prades, Prague, New York Santa Fe, Portland, Osaka, Sapporo, and Kusatsu. After a tour with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in 1998, Mr. Marsalis dedicated the quintet “Meeelaan” for bassoon and string quartet to Milan Turkovic, which he has since performed all over the world. He has performed numerous premiere performances, including works by Jean Francaix, Sofia Gubaidulina, Ivan Eröd, Rainer Bischof and Thomas Daniel Schlee.
AUTHOR
In print, Mr. Turkovic is the author of four books in German, including a book about the Concentus Musicus Vienna, which on the occasion of its 50th anniversary also appeared in a Japanese translation. He regularly participates as a jury member and jury chairman at international competitions.
