Enrique Diemecke

Flint Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor

Maestro Diemecke brings an electrifying balance of passion, intellect and technique to his performances. Warmth, pulse, and spontaneity are all hallmarks of his conducting - conducting that has earned him an international reputation for performances that are riveting in their sweep and dynamism. In the words of The New York Times, Diemecke is a conductor of "fierceness and authority." A noted interpreter of the works of Mahler, Maestro Diemecke has been awarded a Mahler Society medal for his performances of the composer's complete symphonies.

In his third season as Music Director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic of the famed Teatro Colon, Enrique Arturo Diemecke enters his eighth season as Music Director of the Long Beach Symphony in California and his twentieth season as Music Director of the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Having completed his tenure of 20 years at the helm of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, Maestro Diemecke returned to opera as he opened the 2007-2008 leading a new production of Werther at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, which followed performances of Le Jongleur de Notre Dame with tenor Roberto Alagna, which has been recorded by Deutsche Grammophon.

A frequent guest of orchestras throughout the world, Maestro Diemecke makes his debut with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 2008. His most recent appearances have included performances with the French National Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, L'Orchestre de Paris, the Pacific Symphony, the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Charlotte Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Caracas, l'Orchestre National de Lorraine, the National Orchestra of Montpellier, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Valladolid Symphony, the ORCAM Madrid, L'Orchestre de Isle de France, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony, the National Orchestra of Colombia, the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., and the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Houston, Minnesota, Colorado and Fort Worth.

An experienced conductor of opera, Maestro Diemecke served as Music Director of the Bellas Artes Opera of Mexico from 1984-1990, where he led more than 20 productions, including Faust, La Boheme, Salome, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Der fliegende Hollander, Rigoletto, Turandot, Madama Butterfly, and Romeo et Juliette. He has since returned as a guest conductor with new productions of Lohengrin in 1996, Boris Godunov in 1997 and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in 2005. He led Opera Pacific's 2005 production of I Pagliacci and Carmina Burana, is a regular guest of the famed Teatro Zarzuela in Madrid, and was awarded the Jean Fontaine Orpheus d'Or Gold Medal for "best vocal music recording" by France's Academy of Lyric Recordings for his recording of Donizetti's The Exiles of Siberia with the L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier-Languedoc-Roussillon. Maestro Diemecke was previously honored with a Gold Medal from the Academy of Lyric Recordings in 2000 when he was awarded the Bruno Walter Orpheus d'Or Prize for Best Opera Conductor for his live recording of Mascagni's Parisina, made at the Radio France Festival during the summer of 1999.

Maestro Diemecke led the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México on a ten-city tour of the United States, culminating with a program of Latin American masterworks at New York's Carnegie Hall. He and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México were nominated for Best Classical Album for the 3rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards for 2002, for their CD disc of Carlos Chávez's Violin and Piano Concertos with violinist Pablo Roberto Diemecke and pianist Jorge Federico Osorio.

Diemecke led the National Orchestra of France and Cecilia Bartoli, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Maria Joao Pires, and Pierre Amoyal for the sixth edition of Les Victoires de la Musique Classique et Jazz, which was aired on French television and radio.

Diemecke has collaborated with some of the finest artists of our time, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Ravi Shankar, Ivo Pogorelich, Midori, Shlomo Mintz, Henryk Szeryng, Placido Domingo, and Frederica von Stade. He is also frequently invited to festivals such as the Lincoln Center Summer Festival, the Hollywood Bowl Festival, Wolf Trap, Autumno Musicale a Como (Italy), Europalia (Brussels), World Fair Expo Sevilla (Spain), and Festival International Radio France.

Maestro Diemecke is an accomplished composer and orchestral arranger, and has conducted his own composition, Die-Sir-E, during the Mexican National Symphony Orchestra tour of the U.S. in 1999. The Die-Sir-E was commissioned by the Radio France Festival for the World Cup Final Concert in France in 1998. Maestro Diemecke was commissioned to write a tone poem for the Flint Symphony Orchestra, and his works Chacona a Chávez and Guitar Concerto have received many performances both in Europe and in the United States. During the 2001-2002 season, he gave the world premiere of his work Camino y vision, which is dedicated to former President Vincente Fox of Mexico, with the Tulsa Philharmonic. Maestro Diemecke's recent recording with the Flint Symphony Orchestra of the 1896 version of Mahler's First Symphony (which includes the subsequently deleted "Blumine" movement) was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Diemecke has also recorded the music of Revueltas, Chávez and Moncayo for Sony/Mexico with the Orquesta Sinfónica de México, which have became best-sellers in Mexico, earning the conductor and orchestra the Golden Record Award. Other releases by Maestro Diemecke have included the music of Villa-Lobos and Silvestre Revueltas on the Dorian label with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. In these recordings, as well as in his concert performance, Maestro Diemecke has earned particular renown as a pioneering advocate of the music of Chávez and Revueltas, Mexico's greatest composers, and his CD of Revueltas' masterwork La noche de los Mayas has become a recording classic.

Born in Mexico, Enrique Diemecke comes from a German family of classical musicians. He began to play the violin at the age of six studying for many years with the legendary violinist Henryk Szeryng. At the age of nine he added French horn, piano and percussion to his studies. Diemecke attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and continued his studies with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School for Advanced Conductors on a scholarship granted by Madame Pierre Monteux.

Maestro Diemecke is loved by his musicians, audiences and many members of the mid-Michigan community. Below is just a sample of some of their comments about the orchestra and the Maestro.

Tom Glasscock, Manager, FSO, comments, Enrique has made a place in the hearts of the people of Flint.

They recognize his enormous talent and ability to create performances of great sensitivity and drama. And they also enjoy his wit, versatility and openness. It is a relationship that has grown and developed over the years.

Many musicians travel more than 100 miles and balance hectic schedules to perform with the FSO. Concermaster Andrew Jennings, who also serves as violinist of the Concord Piano Trio, Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan and Oberlin College, Artist Faculty and Co-chair of Chamber Music at Tanglewood Music Center, plus a host of other positions, has this to say.

"Since I am not exactly under-employed, there is only one reason to add the FSO to my life - the joyfulness of making music with others who feel the same way and under the direction of one who creates an environment which encourages us all to search for joy in our souls!"

Carrie Banfield-Taplin, Principal Horn, comes from Toledo to perform with the FSO. Here's what she has to say about the FSO & Enrique Diemecke.

Enrique is a wonderful musician. Under his leadership the orchestra has grown steadily into a first-rate performing ensemble. The 'product' this orchestra puts out concert after concert is pretty remarkable. There is a wonderful combination of community, professionalism, joy and inspiration here.

Part of FSO's appeal is its innovativeness in programming. Regularly, the orchestra performs music that challenges and inspires musicians and audience members alike. Several seasons ago, the FSO undertook a look at women in classical music, performing a piece by a female composer in nearly every concert. And in past concerts, the orchestra has undertaken major works like Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony and Mahler's Ninth Symphony about which a reviewer commented,

Diemecke, who conducted this memorable performance without a score, truly deserved the standing ovation accorded him for a masterful accomplishment. As for the orchestra, it is impossible to imagine these musicians ever playing with more passionate feeling or technical brilliance.

Audience attendance figures attest to the popularity of Diemecke and the FSO. Through the help of a program called The PIT, the FSO attracts more than 150 students to every concert.

Numbers, however, only hint at the enthusiasm of the audience. When asked to describe her experience with the FSO, season ticket holder Jean Montooth would include...

all the wonderful adjectives in the world. Plus we like Enrique's enthusiasm, personality and accessibility. He's so down-to-earth. He understands that there are people like us who don't know a thing about music, but just like to listen. We wouldn't give up our seats for anything.

Jean and her husband John have also recruited their friends to become season ticket holders, occupying almost an entire row at every symphony concert.

Sam Chambers is another fan of the orchestra and Maestro Diemecke. Originally a Detroit Symphony Orchestra season ticket holder, Chambers began going to the FSO regularly after he saw Maestro Diemecke conduct.

I like the way he gets into the music. From my seat I can see his face clearly when he turns to the violins. His expression is very meaningful and it carries me away. I've never experienced a bad concert with the FSO.

Through outstanding leadership and musical excellence, the FSO and Maestro Diemecke have developed a strong and loyal following throughout southeastern Michigan rivaled by few other orchestras its size.