KUCHAR, THEODORE

Theodore Kuchar, one of the most prolifically recorded conductors of the past decade, has recorded over 90 compact discs for the Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine and Marco Polo labels. For the past fifteen years, he has served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of two of Europe’s premiere orchestras, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the Czech Radio Orchestra) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Since 1991, he has served as Artistic Director of The Australian Festival of Chamber Music, an annual event regarded as the preeminent chamber music festival of the Southern Hemisphere. He presently also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra and the Reno Chamber Orchestra in the United States. During the past several seasons, guest conducting engagements have taken him to major musical centers including Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Prague, Seoul and Sydney.

Soloists with whom Kuchar has collaborated through the 2007-08 season include James Galway, Jessye Norman, Lynn Harrell, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, Mstislav Rostropovich, Joshua Bell and Frederica von Stade, among others. Firmly committed to the training of young orchestral musicians, he is Director of the Orchestral Program at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, the educational institution established by the late George Szell and The Cleveland Orchestra.

With the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, he has conducted tours of Australia, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland during the 2006-07 season. In January-February, 2009, they will undertake a four week tour of the USA. With the NSO of Ukraine, 11 international tours included Asia, Australia, Central Europe and the United Kingdom. During the 2003-04 season he conducted the opening subscription weeks and a three-week European Tour with the Berliner Symphoniker (Berlin Symphony); during the past two seasons, he will have conducted nearly 40 concerts with this distinguished orchestra. In February, 2005, he conducted a three week United States Tour with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. Additional engagements include collaborations in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Berlin, Bucharest, Cape Town, Kiev, Milan, Palermo, Prague, Rome and Rotterdam. With the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra and Kuchar have recorded 10 compact discs, devoted to the complete symphonies of Carl Nielsen, the complete overtures and tone poems of Dvořák and the complete orchestral works of Bedrich Smetana.

Under Mr. Kuchar’s direction, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine has today become the most frequently recorded orchestra of the former Soviet Union. During the period 1994-2004, the orchestra recorded over 70 compact discs for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels, including the complete symphonies of Kalinnikov, Lyatoshynsky, Martinů and Prokofiev, as well as major works of Dvořák, Glazunov, Mozart, Shchedrin, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky and the symphonies and orchestral works of Ukraine’s leading contemporary symphonist, Yevhen Stankovych. The first of these recordings, devoted to Lyatoshynsky’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, was awarded the ABC’s “Best International Recording of the Year” in 1994. Their recording of the complete works for violin and orchestra by Walter Piston for the Naxos label was hailed by Gramophone (January, 2000) as a “Record of the Year” for 1999. The complete symphonies of Prokofiev are regarded by many critics as the most accomplished cycle available on record. As a violist, his recording of works by Walter Piston was awarded the Chamber Music America/WQXR “Record of the Year” for 2001. The most recent releases of the NSOU, in 2003, include recordings, on the Naxos label, of Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain in the familiar Rimsky-Korsakov version and rarely heard original version), Tchaikovsky (Romeo and Juliet, 1812 Overture, Capriccio Italien and Marche Slav) and Roy Harris (Symphonies Nos. 7 and 9). Critical acclaim has included the following:

“Theodore Kuchar, as anyone will know from his Naxos recordings, is an extremely exciting and talented conductor, and his take-no-prisoners approach works very well in this colorful music. He blasts through the Carnival and Hussite Overtures with uninhibited abandon. His performance of the Symphonic Variations is thrilling, as cogently flowing as any, and it concludes with the best, most powerfully roof-raising final fugue that I ever hope to hear.” www.classicstoday.com

Theodore Kuchar continues to devote several periods annually to one of his most serious passions, the performance of chamber music. His colleagues have included James Buswell, Martin Chalifour, Sarah Chang, Lamar Crowson, Leila Josefowicz, Oleg Kagan, Dong-Suk Kang, Isabelle van Keulen, Oleh Krysa, Mark Lubotsky, Truls Mork, Paul Neubauer, Irina Schnittke, Torleif Thedeen and Thomas Zehetmair. In 1994, he participated with colleagues Oleh Krysa and Alexander Ivashkin in the world premiere of Penderecki’s String Trio in New York City. In July of 1999, he appeared as violist in two recordings for the Naxos label, in works by Alfred Schnittke (with Irina Schnittke and Mark Lubotsky) and Walter Piston.

Albums featuring this artist are available for download from ClassicsOnline.com
20 YEARS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC: Naxos Anniversary Collection (Naxos Denmark)	8.570598
ADAGIO	7168
ADAGIO CHILLOUT	8.556783
AMERICAN CLASSICS SAMPLER	8.559118
AMERICAN SALUTE (AN) - SPIRIT OF THE NATION	8.559147
ANTHEIL: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 6 / McKonkey's Ferry	8.559033
AUDIO REFERENCE - 24K	8.550481G
BALLET FAVORITES	8.571082
BERNSTEIN: West Side Story (excerpts)	8.557878
BORODIN: Prince Igor (Highlights) / In the Steppes of Central Asia	8.557456
CHADWICK: Symphony No. 2 / Symphonic Sketches	8.559213
CHRISTMAS (THE VERY BEST OF)	8.570344-45
Cinderella (Gift Card - see 8.554610 for track listing)	GC982
CINEMA CLASSICS 2004	8.556813
CINEMA CLASSICS 2007	8.556834
CLASSICAL MOMENTS 2: Classical Music for Love	8.555358
CLASSICS FOR LOVERS	8.570013-14
CRESTON: Symphonies Nos. 1- 3	8.559034
Discover the Classics, Vol. 2	8.554246-47
DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenades for Strings	7143
FOOD OF LOVE (THE)	8.554590
GOULD: American Ballads / Foster Gallery / American Salute	8.559005
HARRIS: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 9	8.559050
KALINNIKOV: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2	8.553417
KHACHATURIAN: Violin Concerto / Concerto-Rhapsody	8.555919
LEES: Symphony No. 4, 'Memorial Candles'	8.559002
LYATOSHYNSKY: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3	8.223540
LYATOSHYNSKY: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5	8.223541
LYATOSHYNSKY: Symphony No. 1 / 'Grazhyna', Op. 58	8.223542
MACABRE MASTERPIECES	8.557930-31
MOHR: From the Realm of the Shadow	8.559089-90
MOZART: Violin Concertos Nos. 3 and 5	7145
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition	6.110061
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition	8.555924
Naxos Audiophile Kingdom	8.554915DX
PISTON: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Fantasia for Violin	8.559003
PROKOFIEV (Eternal)	8.572079
PROKOFIEV, S.: Symphony No. 4 / The Prodigal Son (Ukraine National Symphony, Kuchar)	8.553055
PROKOFIEV: Cinderella Suites / Scythian Suite	8.550968-69
PROKOFIEV: Cinderella Suites / TCHAIKOVSKY: Sleeping Beauty (Children's Classics)	8.554610
PROKOFIEV: Orchestral Suites	8.554057
PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet (Highlights) / Cinderella Suite No. 1	8.553273
PROKOFIEV: Sergey Prokofiev - A Portrait (HART)	8.558202-03
PROKOFIEV: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 / Dreams, Op. 6	8.553053
PROKOFIEV: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 7	8.553054
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 1, 'Classical' / Symphony No. 5	8.554058
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 5 / The Year 1941	8.553056
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 6 / Waltz Suite	8.553069
ROMANCE	8.553216
RUSSIAN OPERA ARIAS, Vol. 1	8.554843
RUSSIAN OPERA ARIAS, Vol. 2	8.554844
SCARY MASTERPIECES - Music by Grieg, Liszt, Dvorak, Franck, Ducas, Saint-Saens	8.570362
SHCHEDRIN: Carmen Suite / Concerto for Orchestra	8.553038
SHOSTAKOVICH (THE BEST OF)	8.556684
SHOSTAKOVICH (THE VERY BEST OF)	8.552129-30
SHOSTAKOVICH: Dmitry Shostakovich - A Portrait (WHITEHOUSE)	8.558188-89
SHOSTAKOVICH: Gadfly Suite (The) / Five Days-Five Nights Suite	8.553299
STANKOVYTCH: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 4	8.223792
TCHAIKOVSKY (THE VERY BEST OF)	8.552117-18
TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture / Romeo and Juliet / Capriccio Italien	8.555923
TCHAIKOVSKY: Dances and Overtures	8.554845