Pierre-Dominique Ponnelle about Shostakovich’s Symphony No.8

Pierre-Dominique Ponnelle was born in Munich and studied there as well as in Weimar with Otmar Suitner and in Berlin and Salzburg with Herbert von Karajan. From the start of his career, he has been active in the fields of symphony and opera alike, conducting at the theaters in Kassel, Marseille, Bratislava, Zurich and elsewhere. The spectrum of his symphonic repertoire ranges from the classical period to contemporary music. He has guest conducted numerous orchestras, including the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Baden-Baden, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Luxembourg..., the State Orchestras of Armenia, Greece, Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine..., the Philharmonic Orchestras of Strasbourg, Zagreb, Monte Carlo, Dresden, Munich and St. Petersburg. In addition, he has appeared at the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto and Charleston, as well as at other festivals. From 1992 to 1996 he was associated with the Minsk State Philharmonic Orchestra, first as Principal Guest Conductor and later as Principal Conductor. The main focus of his work there was on Brahms, Mahler, Bruckner and Shostakovich, as well as on large choral works. His successful activity there has been documented by CDs and television recordings. Ponnelle ended his collaboration with this orchestra in late 1996 and is presently active once again as a guest conductor.