“The music was broadcasting (the colour) like a prism in direct sunlight! All of the score’s sweeping romance, elegant grandeur, and intimate melancholy was masterfully brought to life by conductor Aleksandar Markovic.”
ROGER DOWNEY, SEATTLE OPERA
As of September 2022, Aleksandar Markovic stepped into his new role as Principal Guest Conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia.
Their exciting touring schedule for the 2022/23 season includes concerts at “La folle journée” Festival in Nantes and the region, a performance of Penderecki’s dramatic Symphony Nr.2. at Athen’s Megaron and appearance at Ravenna Festival where they will join forces with Youth Orchestra Luigi Cherubini to deliver a Penderecki, Beethoven and Gorecki experience.
At home in Warsaw they will present Mahler’s Symphony Nr.1 and a world premiere of Ash by Pawel Mykietyn within Anniversary Concert at Polish National Theater, and perform at the opening and closing concerts of Sinfonia Varsovia Summer Festival. The CD recording of Szymanowski and Nielsen violin concertos with Anna Agafia has been released by the Swiss label Claves.
Before his role became official, Aleksandar was already a frequent guest of Sinfonia Varsovia: they entered last year with an energising programme featuring works of Polish modern Classics at the 19. Lutoslawski “Chain” Festival in Warsaw and he conducted the orchestra’s prestigious Anniversary Concert at Warsaw Opera House. At the culmination of the 2021/22 concert season, he led Sinfonia Varsovia in their Summer Festival.
Aleksandar also holds a position as Chief Conductor of Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra. Recently, he presented two programmes within the framework of Novi Sad being crowned as the ‘European Capital of Culture 2022.’ Other season highlights included Strauss’s “Ein Heldenleben,” Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem”, and the starting of the 2022/23 season with a concert featuring Julian Rachlin.
Autum 2022, Aleksandar conducted a new production of Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos at the Slovenian National Theatre, and returned to the Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra. In January 2020 he made his US debut at Seattle Opera with Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. His previous roles included his positions as Chief Conductor at the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, Music Director and Principal Conductor of Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, and Music Director of Opera North.
Aleksandar’s orchestral appearances have led him to Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, RTE Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, National Orchestra of Belgium and Munich Radio Orchestra, amongst others. He also enjoyed successful debuts with the Wuppertal Opera Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Bremen Philharmonic, Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, DSO Berlin and Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg.
Aleksandar commands a wide range of symphonic and operatic repertoire, reaching from Classic and Romantic to contemporary styles. His keen interest in 20th-century and avant-garde music has led to performances of works by Hartmann, Schiske, Istvan, Rozsa, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Glass, D’Ase, Pintscher, Larcher, Tüür, Yusupov, Salonen and MacMillan and many more. Originally from Belgrade, Aleksandar was a graduate of Leopold Hager’s conducting class at the University of Music Vienna and attended masterclasses in Siena, where he was awarded a Diploma d’onore. He was also awarded a scholarship from the Herbert von Karajan Foundation Berlin, and won First Prize at the 7th International Conducting Competition “G. Fitelberg” in Katowice.