Watch Daniela Candillari Lead The New York Philharmonic Brass In Her Sonnet IX & More On NYPhil+

The New York Philharmonic today released a new film featuring conductor and composer Daniela Candillari leading the orchestra's brass section in her own composition, Sonnet IX, as well as a program of Mussorgsky, Dorothy Gates, Michael Kamen, Bruckner, and Paul Terracini. The film is available for streaming for one month on the NYPhil+ platform, a streaming site of digital concerts and archival footage.

Candillari's Sonnet IX was originally written for Lincoln Center Trombones and their inaugural concert in January 2017. Inspired by words, she wanted to create a piece that would resonate with the opening lines of Sonnet IX by Shakespeare: "Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye, That thou consum'st thyself in single life?"

She says, "In the piece I wanted to create two different worlds, that could intertwine, but also offer a very stark contrast between themselves. The opening section was inspired by the music of my native country, Serbia, and the harmonic language I often heard as a child. The middle section however drew inspiration from the music of Benjamin Britten, and to me the inner pulse and drive was representing the emotions we feel when faced with questions we don't have an answer to. When the members of the Philharmonic brought up the idea of doing this concert, I wanted to expand the piece to 7 voices, instead of 6, and use all of the colors of the instruments that would now find its way into the score. Even though the Sonnet IX ends with a different narrative, for me the very first sentence asked the most important question, and the end of the musical piece offers hopefully a resolution."

This season, Candillari's conducting schedule includes her Metropolitan Opera debut leading Eurydice on December 8, 2021. In March and April 2022, she leads Fire Shut Up in My Bones at Chicago Lyric Opera, and then returns to the Opera Theatre of St. Louis for Carmen in May and June. As newly appointed Principal Opera Conductor of Music Academy of the West, Candillari conducts Eugene Onegin in July 2022. Recent season highlights include leading Michigan Opera Theatre's production of Blue in September and her 2021 debuts at Opera Theatre of St. Louis and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

About Daniela Candillari

Conductor Daniela Candillari, praised for her "confidence and apparently inexhaustible verve" (The New York Times), continues to be recognized for her dynamic and compelling performances at opera houses and concert stages throughout North America and Europe. Equally at home leading contemporary and long-beloved repertoire, Candillari "finds equal inspiration in tradition and novelty." (Opera News)

Candillari makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2021-2022 season conducting Aucoin's Eurydice. She also leads a new production of Jeanine Tesori's Blue with Michigan Opera Theatre and workshops the composer's Grounded with Washington National Opera and The Met Opera, conducts Fire Shut Up in My Bones at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Carmen at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and leads performances with Music Academy of the West. A film of the world premiere of Clint Borzoni's The Copper Queen with Arizona Opera is slated for release in late 2021 and she will conduct a made-for-TV film of Ana Sokolović's Svadba in winter 2022.

Recent highlights include Candillari's New York Philharmonic debut conducting Thomson's The Mother of Us All at The Metropolitan Museum of Art co-produced by The Juilliard School in early 2020; her 2021 debuts with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Saint Louis Symphony; acclaimed performances of Acquanetta with the PROTOTYPE Festival; her debuts with Los Angeles Opera for Ellen Reid's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, prism, and with Opera Philadelphia in a new production of Rene Orth's Empty the House; leading Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain at Music Academy of the West; her mainstage debut at Arizona Opera conducting Gregory Spears' Fellow Travelers, which she led in previous seasons with both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Minnesota Opera; and her Asian debut in Hong Kong conducting Du Yun's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, Angel's Bone. She appeared in concert with Trinity Wall Street's NOVUS NY Festival to open their 2018 season in celebration of Leonard Bernstein's Centennial, and returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2019 for Jack Perla's An American Dream.

As a composer, Candillari has been commissioned by artists including instrumentalists from the Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh Symphonies, as well as the three resident orchestras of Lincoln Center: the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the New York City Ballet. Candillari founded her own chamber orchestra Gravity Shift in New York City in order to bring contemporary repertoire to new audiences. An avid educator, she spent the summer of 2019 conducting the West Coast premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain at the Music Academy of the West.

A native of Slovenia, Candillari holds a Doctorate in Musicology from the Universität für Musik in Vienna, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and a Master of Music and Bachelor in Piano Performance from the Universität für Musik in Graz. She was a Fulbright Scholarship recipient and was subsequently awarded a TED Fellowship. Learn more at www.danielacandillari.com.

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