Vladimir Kiradjiev

Born in Plovdiv, studied conducting and composition at the Music Academy in Sofia in 1980­85 (diploma with distinction). He continued his education with Kurt Masur in Weimar and Leipzig (1983) and Franco Ferrara in Siena (1985). In 1986 he worked as an assistant to Karl Öster-reicher at the summer course in Varna.
He was Music Director of the Sliven Opera (1984­87), a conductor in Pasardijk and Plovdiv, a lecturer at the Music Academy in Sofia (1988­1990) and Artistic Director of the Residenz Orchester in Vienna (1990­94). In the 1990s he was active in the field of music theatre. As Guest Conductor he produced the ballet Labyrinths to Schnittke1s music in Lucerne (presented at the Internationale Festwochen Luzern, 1993). He has collaborated with the National Theatre in Kazan (Der fliegende Holländer, 1992). In 1995 he worked as an assistant to Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, as conductor and language coach in the production of Boris Godunov and Eugene Onegin in the original language version at Berlin1s Deutsche Oper. In the foyer of that opera house he conducted the concert version of Mussorgsky1s The Marriage. He also collaborated with Harry Kupfer in the production of La Boh…me at Berlin1s Komische Oper (1998). He was Music Director in Mozart1s The Abduction from the Seraglio at the National Opera in Sofia (1999).
In 1994­95 Kiradjiev lectured at Vienna1s Music University, where he started his doctoral studies on the interpretation of waltzes and polkas by Johann Strauss, the son. He has performed in Poland on several occasions. He has recorded works by Schoenberg and Lutos1awski with the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra (1996), and conducted the concert version of West Side Story in the ¸óde Philharmonic (2001) and a concert in the cycle OThe Symphonies of Brahms1 in the Wroc1aw Philharmonic.
In 1998 he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in the orchestra1s Great Hall. In 1999 he directed workshops with Klangforum Wien.

österreichisches ensemble für neue musik (oenm) is based in Salzburg, where it was founded in 1975 by Klaus Ager and Ferenc Tornai. It was directed by Herbert Grassel until 1997 and has since worked under the guidance of Frank Stadler (first violin) and Peter Sigel (cello), attaining the highest artistic standards and international reputation. In 1998 Johannes Kalitzke became Principal Guest Conductor of oenm.
In addition to traditional instruments (string quintet, wind instruments, piano and percussion), the ensemble incorporates electronics. Depending on individual needs, the performance forces can be enlarged or reduced (Stadler Quartett and Lamy Trio are active within the framework of oenm).
The aim of oenm is to help young composers at the start of their career, to promote Austrian music of the 20th and 21st centuries on the international scene and to bring the latest trends in music across the world closer to local audiences. The ensemble has given the first performances of over 200 pieces. It regularly organizes workshops for young composers and members of the public. The so-called Composers1 Night, which presents the latest works by composers of the Salzburg region, is an annual event in the oenm calendar.
The repertoire of oenm comprises the classical works of 20th-century music, present-day acoustic and electronic music, music theatre and installations (Klangmobile). During the 1999/2000 season the ensemble gave its first cycle of subscription concerts under the motto Oat the turning point of the millennium and no end in sight1. In August 2000, in collaboration with the International Summer Academy in Salzburg, it produced Wolfgang Rihm1s chamber opera Jakob Lenz and in the summer of 2001 Michael Mautner1s opera Dantes Inferno. The cycle OArtists compose programmes1, with the participation of artists representing other art forms (including Josef Schweiger and Karl-Markus Gauss), was inaugurated in 2001/2002. Their joint project Gesamtkunstwerk was included in the programme of the Mozarteum International Foundation. Thanks to Donald Kahn1s generous support, this collaboration was continued in the 2002/2003 season (a four-part cycle devoted to new British, French, Finnish and American music). oenm was ensemble-in-residence at the 2003 International Summer Academy in Salzburg. It also performed at this year1s Salzburg Festival, giving three concerts and presenting a new version of its Klangmobile project (in the city1s squares on 12 consecutive nights), the highlight of which was Stockhausen1s Helikopterquartett for string quartet and four helicopters. Foreign tours have taken the ensemble to Italy, Germany, Holland, Spain, the Czech Republic, France, the Scandinavian countries, Russia, Latvia, Egypt, the United States, Brazil, South Korea and Cuba.