Patrick Hahn Named Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Borusan İstanbul Philharmonic Orchestra

Austrian conductor Patrick Hahn has been announced as Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Borusan İstanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BIPO), a two-season contract commencing in October 2021.

Patrick Hahn has performed as a guest conductor at BIPO in more than eight concerts and received great acclaim from audiences. Hahn's debut with the Orchestra was in August 2020 at the Istanbul Music Festival with soloist Víkingur Ólafsson. This was followed by a series of seven live-streamed concerts on Borusan Klasik Radio & Boru​sanSanat​.TV beginning in November 2020, where Hahn conducted Arvo Pärt's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten and Beethoven's Symphony No.3, further concerts featured works by Ives, Bartók, Wagner and Mozart. The final concert in this series was streamed on 15 April. Commenting on the appointment, he said:

​"It has been a huge joy and privilege to have to been able to make music together so regularly with the incredibly talented and motivated musicians of the BIPO even during these unusual and challenging pandemic times. Their endless efforts and open minds to all kinds of different repertoire have led to the beginning of a fruitful collaboration that I look forward to continuing in the future and I cannot wait to become a part of the illustrious cultural scene of Istanbul with its remarkable past and promising future.

Founded in 1999 by Borusan Sanat and now their Honorary Conductor Gürer Aykal, Borusan İstanbul Philharmonic Orchestra has played a significant role in Istanbul's cultural life presenting world-renowned conductors and soloists such as Renée Fleming, Murray Perahia, Maxim Vengerov, Lang Lang and Sascha Goetzel, their Chief Conductor between 2009 - 2020. As one of Turkey's leading symphonic ensembles, BIPO aims to bring art and culture to wider public and has continued giving a concerts during the Pandemic through Borusan Klasik Radio & Boru​sanSanat​.TV which were free of charge and for everyone.

Aydın Dorsay, Director of Borusan Sanat says: ​"We are thrilled about the prospect of Patrick Hahn joining us as our next Principle Guest Conductor. Hahn is in great demand around the world, so we are excited that we can acknowledge the great partnership he has established with BIPO. We believe that Hahn's appointment opens an exciting new chapter in the Orchestra's life."

In 2020, Hahn was appointed as General Music Director of Wuppertaler Bühnen und Sinfonieorchester GmbH from the 2021/22 season and became Germany's youngest general music director. Recent and upcoming engagements include concerts with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker and Klangforum Wien.

Photo Credit: Ozge Balkan

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