A young Spanish conductor making his mark today has aimed to know a variety of ensembles, repertoires, and styles. As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, he’s also committed to giving back to the community through music.
Listen to Pablo Heras-Casado conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra on WRTI, in a program featuring the music of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Mendelssohn on Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 1 pm.
Radio Script:
Music: Felix Mendelssohn, Scottish Symphony
Susan Lewis: Mendelsssohn wrote the Scottish Symphony from impressions on his grand tour of Europe in 1829. Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado has made something of a grand tour himself, in the last decade debuting at multiple orchestras, opera companies, and festivals all over the world.
Pablo Heras-Casado: I always was feeling I needed to experience and know everything, and of course it was a time for me where it was very important to get as much experience as I could, and to conduct everywhere...and get to know many different groups and bands and ensembles.
SL: Born in 1977 in Granada, Spain, Heras-Casada co-founded an early-music ensemble as well as a group focused on avant-garde works in the '90s.
PHC: I cared a lot about those ensembles; I was extremely involved in every aspect. After these many years of experiences all over the world, this is my goal — to keep this intensity but with different families I’ve been building in the last 20 years.
SL: He’s now principal conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke; its "Subway Series" of free concerts in the boroughs illustrates another of his goals.
PHC: You have the chance of reaching more and more people, and you can have a bigger influence on the social aspect of music, and helping others through music to have better conditions or better life — for me this is very very important and very satisfying now.
SL: Pablo Heras-Casado received Granada’s 2012 Medal of Honor and was named the 2014 conductor of the year by Musical America.
