Season 2023-2024

One of the highlights of the season 2023-2024, includes another film project with l'Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse.
In February 2024, Claus returns to conduct two live screen performances of three Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy films: Liberty (1929), You´re Darn Toottin'! (1928) and Habeas Corpus (1928).
Associate composer Fabien Cali has written the music for the films, which has been specially commissioned for the occasion.

More details can be found here.

Coco

Claus Efland returns to l'Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse, where he will present Lee Unkrich´s Coco featuring a screening of Disney´s award winning classic with composer Michael Giacchino´s musical score performed live to the film. The film was chosen by the National Board of Review as the Best Animated Film of 2017.

The live screen performances of Coco will take place on April the 5th and 6th 2023 at the National Scene of Mulhouse, La Filature.

More details can be found here.

Three Wishes For Cinderella

On the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of December 2022, Claus Efland conducts Brandenburger Symphoniker in live screen performances of the classic fairy tale Three Wishes For Cinderella.
Composer Karel Svoboda´s musical score will be performed live to the film, which is directed by Vaclav Vorlicek and based on a story by Bozena Nemcova and the Grimm Brothers.

More details can be found here.

L'Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse

Claus Efland kicks off the season 2022-2023 conducting L'Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse.
After his highly acclaimed live-screen performances of Tim Burton´s The Nightmare Before Christmas in October 2021, Efland returns Mulhouse with a musical selection from timeless Hollywood classics. The programme includes music from Casablanca (Max Steiner), Funny Girl (Jules Styne), Star Wars (John Williams), Ben Hur (Miklos Rosza) among others. The performance takes place on September the 10th 2022 at the National Scene of Mulhouse, La Filature, and will be presented by Laurent Sauvage.

More details can be found here.

Elgar, Elgar and Elgar

"I have heard many live performances over the last forty years, conducted by Barbirolli, Boult, Solti, Barenboim, Svetlanov and many others, and I have to say that this performance ranked with the best of them", reported the Leicester Mercury on Claus Efland´s recent performance of Elgar´s 2nd Symphony.

On May the 15th 2022, Efland returns to Leicester´s De Montfort Hall, conducting the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in an all Elgar programme including the Symphony No 1, Serenade for Strings and the powerful Cello Concerto with Lydia Shelley as a soloist.

Information about tickets can be found here.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Claus Efland and l'Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse will present Tim Burton´s The Nightmare Before Christmas featuring a screening of Disney´s timeless holiday classic with Grammy-winning composer Danny Elfman´s musical score performed live to the film.

The live screen performances of The Nightmare Before Christmas will take place on October the 29th and 30th 2021 at the National Scene of Mulhouse, La Filature.

More details can be found here.

Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony

Claus Efland returns to the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in Leicester (UK) in style with a blockbuster symphonic programme featuring Camille Saint-Saëns´ Symphony No 3 in C minor, op. 78 "Organ" and Mendelssohn´s ever-popular Violin Concerto. The concert opens with Elgar´s colourful orchestration of J. S. Bach´s Fantasia and Fugue in C minor.

The performance, which opens the Season 2021/2022 of the Bardi Symphony Orchestra, takes place on 10th of October 2021 at the De Montfort Hall.

Please read more here.

Efland conducts Schubert and Haydn in Lodz

Following his highly successful debut in September 2019, Claus Efland returns to Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland to perform the Great C Major Symphony by Franz Schubert. The programme includes the 2nd Cello Concerto in D Major by Joseph Haydn with the young cellist Bartosz Koziak as a soloist. The performance takes place on the 6th of November 2020 at 7 pm at the beautiful Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Hall in Lodz.

More details can be found here.

Debut with Jena Philharmoniker

The season 2020/2021 starts in Germany, where Claus Efland makes his debut with Jena Philharmoniker.
The concerts will take place on the 12th, 19th and 20th of September 2020 in Weißenfels, Arnstadt and Jena. The programme features works by Edvard Grieg, Johan Svendsen, Jean Sibelius and Suite for Strings Op 1 by Carl Nielsen. Nielsen´s Suite is a highlight on Efland´s CD release Nordic Atmospheres (Challenge Records), which received extensive critical acclaim and a special recommendation on BBC Radio 3´s flagship programme CD Review.

Information about tickets can be found here.

Danish National Opera

In February and March 2020 Claus Efland conducted Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the Danish National Opera. The performances were received with great critical acclaim and the renowned Danish reviewer John Christiansen reported on his blog www.jc-klassisk.dk:

"Mozart´s music can have an erotic undertone, and this was certainly the case in the performance given by the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Claus Efland. Efland is a native of Funen, Denmark, he studied in London and now performs internationally. How enjoyable this Mozart proved to be! Performed with a pared-down orchestra, this provided a transparency which allowed each instrument came to its own right, giving a truly wonderful overall impression. Efland conducted elegantly, with briskness and his interpretation was filled with expression. This provided an intimacy in the ensemble which was at once light and sparkling, as well as narrative and lyrical. This was outstandingly nuanced playing by Efland and his players".

The remaining performances scheduled in March and April 2020, were cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Carl Nielsen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The year 2020 opens with performances in Neubrandenburg (9th of January), Neustrelitz (12th of January) and Güstrow (24th of January). Claus Efland conducts Neubrandenburger Philharmonie in a terrific programme based on the theme Temperaments, including Brahms´  mighty 1st Piano Concerto in D minor with Spanish Judith Jáuregui as soloist and the 2nd Symphony The Four Temperaments by Efland´s compatriot, the Danish composer Carl Nielsen.
More information can be found here.

Debut with Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra

Claus Efland conducts one of the most famous symphonies, the 5th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, when he opens the new season with Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland on the 27th of September 2019. The programme includes the Violin Concerto by the polish composer Ludomir Rozycki (1883-1953) with the young violinist Janusz Wawrowski as a soloist. Otto Nicolai´s sparkling "Merry Wives of Windsor" Overture opens the concert, which takes place at the beautiful Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Hall in Lodz.
Find more details here.

Season 2019/2020

The season 2019/2020 starts in Poland where Claus Efland makes his debut with Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra in a wonderful programme including Beethoven´s Symphony No 5.
Other highlights of the season will include a new production of Mozart´s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Danish National Opera. Furthermore in Denmark, Claus Efland will be perfoming with Odense Symphony Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and South Denmark Philharmonic. Danish music is on the menu, when Efland conducts Carl Nielsen´s Symphony No 2 with Neubrandenburger Philharmoniker in January 2020 at the Berliner Philharmonie

Nielsen´s 5th Symphony in England

In May 2019, Music Director Claus Efland and the Bardi Symphony Orchestra performed Carl Nielsen´s Symphony No 5 at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. The performance received great critical acclaim:

"Efland is simply a formidable conductor and interpreter of this music". (leicesterconcertgoerdiary.wordpress.com)

"It helps to have a Danish conductor in charge - especially one a inspiring and comitted as Claus Efland. He knows every note of these symphonies and he knows exactly what he wahts from the music and the players". (Leicester Mercury).

Berlioz Te Deum

On the 28th of April 2019, Claus Efland leads a performance of Berlioz'  mighty Te Deum in a joint production with Teatro dell'Opera in Rome and Rome Symphony Orchestra. The concert begins at 8.30 pm and takes place at Saint Paul's Church (Via Nazionale 16a). For sale of tickets, please contact info@operainroma.com.

Da Da Da Daaa!

Claus Efland conducts one of the most famous symphonies, the 5th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, when he opens the new season with Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland on the 27th of September 2019. The programme includes the Violin Concerto by the polish composer Ludomir Rozycki (1883-1953) with the young violinist Janusz Wawrowski as a soloist. Otto Nicolai´s sparkling "Merry Wives of Windsor" Overture opens the concert, which takes place at the beautiful Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Hall in Lodz.

Britten War Requiem

Claus Efland received great critical acclaim for his performance of Britten´s War Requiem with Bardi Symphony Orchestra on November the 10th 2018 at Leicester´s De Montfort Hall:

„Both choirs and orchestras maintained a tension and accuracy that showed Claus Efland´s admirable technical control, confidence and intimate knowledge of the score. Efland´s interpretation had an emotional power that went beyond the surface of the piece and at times had a searing intensity that took the breath away“. (Leicester Mercury)

„Efland had a clear vision with everything at his fingertips, which obviously gave to all the security needed to ascend this Everst of music“.  (leicesterconcertgoerdiary.wordpress.com).

Danish National Opera

In January 2020, Claus Efland starts rehearsing Mozart´s opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction From The Seraglio) at the Danish National Opera. Read more about the production including dates here (in Danish) and here (in English).

Brahms in England

Claus Efland recently opened the new season of the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in England with Brahms' 1st Symphony. The performance received standing ovation and rave reviews:
"Efland has the relatively rare ability to transmit his feeling for the architecture of the piece from the opening bars through to the last with a sense of purpose and direction that is truly satisfying. Another is his skillful use of subtle rubato which adds countless felicitations to his interpretations without interrupting the sense of direction and forward momentum. Efland is also a dab hand at building an effective climax. All these qualities are particularly important when conducting a Brahms symphony". (Neil Crutchley, Leicester Mercury)

Season 2018/2019

The season 2018/2019 starts with a performance at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester, where Claus Efland conducts Bardi Symphony Orchestra in a programme including Brahms' Symphony No 1. Other highlights of the season will include a return to Teatro dell'Opera in Rome and tours in South America with Orquesta Sinfonica Provincial de Santa Fe (Argentina) and Orquestra Filarmonica de Goias (Brazil).

Standing Ovations

On the 15th and 16th of March 2018, Claus Efland returned to Denmark to conduct the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. He performed 2 concerts each featuring the Second Symphony by Johan Svendsen, Schumann Piano Concerto (soloist: Zlata Chochieva) and Weber's Overture Der Freischütz. Both concerts received standing ovations and the newspaper Aarhus Stiftstidende, referring to the whole concert programme, wrote:
"The performance went from a quiet intense beginning to an overwhelming drama with a glorious ending, superbly controlled by Efland's excellent musicianship".

Ein Heldenleben

Efland returns to the Bardi Symphony Orchestra on the 13th of May 2018 at Leicester's De Montfort Hall in a spectacular performance of Richard Strauss' mighty Ein Heldenleben (A Hero´s Life). Before the interval, Marina Chiche (Violin), Guy Johnston (Cello) and Tom Poster (Piano) join the orchestra for Beethoven Triple Concerto.

Please read more here

Svendsen in Aarhus

On the 15th and 16th of March 2018, Claus Efland is performing with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Denmark. The programme includes Weber Freischütz Overture, Schumann Piano Concerto with Zlata Chochieva as a soloist and Johan Svendsen Symphony No 2.
In November 2016, Claus stepped in at a short notice and conducted the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in a critical acclaimed performance of Brahms 3rd Symphony. The newspaper Aarhus Stiftstidende reported: ...To step in as a conductor with such short notice, is very demanding. But Efland, who is establishing a distinguished international career, did a marvellous job.

Please find more details here.

Beethoven Eroica

Music Director Claus Efland is returning Leicester in England where he will concduct the Bardi Symphony Orchestra on Sunday the 4th of February 2018 at the De Montfort Hall.
The programme features Beethoven's great Symphony No 3 "Eroica" and a performance of Sibelius' virtuosic Violin Concerto with Tamsin Waley-Cohen as soloist.
The concert opens with Mozart's Magic Flute Overture.

Please read more here

New Year 2018

Celebrate New Year in January 2018 with Claus Efland and the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg at Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin in a spectacular programme including Bartered Bride Overture by Smetana, Salut for August Bournonville by Lumbye, Radetzky March and many other favourites by Rossini, Donizetti, Rachmaninov, Offenbach and Lehar. Back due to popular demand, Efland conducts the famous New Years Concerts for the 8th time. Dates for all 11 concerts can be found here.

Season 2017/2018

Highlights of the season 2017/18 include a re-invitation to the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Denmark. After a highly successful performance of Brahms' 3rd Symphony in November 2016, Efland returns to conduct Johan Svendsen 2nd Symphony, Schumann Piano Concerto and Weber Freischutz Overture. 
In January 2018, Claus Efland is back at the Konzerthaus Berlin to direct 11 sell-out New Year's Concerts with Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg. Furthermore, the season offers performances of Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss and Beethoven's 3rd Symphony with the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in the De Montfort Hall in Leicester.

Danish National Opera

For the Season 2019/2020, Claus Efland will be conducting Mozart's opera The Abduction From The Seraglio at the Danish National Opera. This will be a new production, directed by Philipp Kochheim. After the Premiere, the production goes on tour and is performed under Efland's baton by Odense Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, South Denmark Philharmonic and Copenhagen Phil.

Claus Efland conducts Vaughan Williams

Claus Efland's recent performance of Vaughan Williams Symphony No 5 with the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in the De Montfort Hall in Leicester, received great critical acclaim from audience and press alike.
Neil Crutchley from Leicester Mercury reported: "Efland held the overall structure of the piece together with a remarkable sureness of touch. For me, his phrasing and choice of tempi were spot on". 

Chaplin "City Lights"

On the 5th of February 2017, Claus Efland led a live screen performance of Charlie Chaplin´s "City Lights". Efland conducted the Bardi Symphony Orchestra and the sell-out performance was received with standing ovation. The Leicester Mercury reported: "Claus Efland had the measure of the film achieving tight synchronisation throughout".

Efland conducts Rachmaninov

On the 26th of November 2016, Efland directs a performance in the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. In a concert which celebrates 30th Anniversary of the Bardi Symphony Orchestra, Claus Efland conducts one of the great romantic symphonies, Rachmaninov's Symphony No 2. The concert also features the Russian pianist Nikolai Demidenko as soloist in Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto and opens with Wagner's Prelude to Act 1 of "Die Meistersinger".

Please read more here.

Stepping in...

Claus Efland recently stepped in at very short notice for the Italian conductor Giancarlo Andretta. On the 17th of November 2016 he conducted the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (Denmark) in a programme which included Brahms' Symphony No 3, Hindemith's Organ Concerto (soloist: Thomas Trotter) and the Overture and Dance Scene from "Ariadne auf Naxos" by Richard Strauss.
The performance received great critical acclaim from press and audience alike. The newspaper Aarhus Stiftstidende reported: ...To step in as a conductor with such short notice, is very demanding. But Efland, who is establishing a distinguished international career, did a marvellous job. 

Gerontius

On the 16th of October 2016, Claus Efland returns to the De Montfort Hall in Leicester to direct a landmark performance with the Bardi Symphony Orchestra of Sir Edward Elgar´s oratorio "The Dream of Gerontius" with more than 250 people on stage.
Recently, when Efland conducted the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Elgar´s 2nd Symphony at the De Montfort Hall, the Leicester Mercury wrote: "I have heard many live performances over the last forty years, conducted by Barbirolli, Boult, Solti, Barenboim, Svetlanov and many others, and I have to say that this performance ranked with the best of them".

Find more details here

Espana!

Just few tickets are left when Claus Efland conducts the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in an all Spanish affair on Sunday the 12th of June at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. The programme includes pieces by de Falla, Chabrier, Albeniz, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rodrigo's popular Concierto de Aranjuez featuring guitarist Craig Ogden as a soloist. This concert is the final one in a highly acclaimed season, where the Music Director of the Bardi Symphony Orchestra was described as "an outstanding conductor who is incapable of giving a dull and routine performance".

Please find more details here.
 

Concerts in Rome

In May Claus returns to Rome to conduct two performances of Mozart's Great C minor Mass KV 427. He will be working with the Orchestra, Chorus and Soloists of the Accademia d'Opera Italiana.

Dates:
Saturday, 14th of May, 8.30 pm, All Saints' Anglican Church
Sunday, 15th of May, 6.30 pm, San Paolo Entro la Mura Church

Please find more details here.

Music Director

Due to Claus' successful work with the Bardi Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra unanimously agreed to extend his contract with 3 more years. Claus will remain Music Director in Leicester until the end of the season 2020, and is looking forward to performing more great concerts in and around Leicester.

Peteris Vasks 70th Birthday

In April 2016 Peteris Vasks celebrates his 70th Birthday. On his latest CD release "Nordic Atmospheres", together with Sinfonietta Riga (Challenge Records), Claus Efland interpretates Peteris Vasks' beautifully written "Musica Dolorosa". Vasks attended all rehearsals and recording sessions. After the last session, the composer declared this recording of his "Musica Dolorosa" to be the finest ever made.
The CD also includes music by Sibelius, Nielsen, Grieg, Kalsons and Larsson. "Nordic Atmospheres" was recently recommended as one of the best discs with Scandinavian music on the BBC Radio 3 "Building a Library" programme.

More Nielsen...

After the success of Nielsen´s 3rd Symphony with the Bardi Symphony Orchestra, Claus travelled to Sweden to conduct more Nielsen! On February the 14th, Claus conducted Lund´s Stadsorkester in Carl Nielsen´s 2nd Symphony (Four Temperaments). A performance which was enthusiastically received and regarded as one of the finest musical achievements ever in Lund. The concert also included Dvorak´s Cello Concerto with Per Nyström as a soloist and Divertimento by the young Estonian composer Mihkel Kerem.

Sinfonia Espansiva

In February 2016, Music Director Claus Efland and the Bardi Symphony Orchestra performed Carl Nielsen´s Symphony No 3 at the De Montford Hall in Leicester. This was the Leicester premiere of Nielsen´s Sinfonia Espansiva. Efland´s work with the Bardi continues to impress according to Neil Crutchley´s brilliant review: "Barbirolli and the Halle, Karajan and the Berlin Phil, Previn and the LSO, Rattle and the CBSO. These are a few of the great orchestral partnerships of the last fifty years in which conductor and players achieve outstanding results through dedication, inspiration and mutual respect. To these I would add "Efland and the Bardi", as what we heard in their searing account of Nielsens´s glorious Sinfonia Espensiva was every bit as compelling as anything I´ve heard in the De Montford Hall in almost fifty years of concert-going and proved what can be achieved when orchestra and conductor have the qualities listed above".

New Year in Berlin

2016 started well off with New Years Concerts at the Berliner Konzerthaus, where Claus conducted the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg attended by more than 15000 people in 11 sold-out concerts. Works including Lehar´s Gold and Silver Waltz, Berstein´s Candide Overture and highlights from My Fair Lady, were given elegant and stylish performances at the beloved and ever popular concerts in January. Claus is again to be in front of the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg at the Berliner Konzerthaus, when he conducts the New Year Concerts 2017.

Reumert Award 2015

During the spring 2015, Claus Efland conducted the world premiere of the opera Andre Bygninger (Other Buildings) by Andy Pape at the Fynske Opera in Denmark. The highly acclaimed performances received the most prestigious Danish Opera Award, the Reumert Award 2015, with the nomination: Opera of the Year. 

Brilliantly conducted...

In April and May 2015 the opera Other Buildings, composed by Andy Pape, was first performed in Denmark. Claus Efland led the Odense Symphony Orchestra in co-operation with Opera Funen (Fynske Opera). The production has been nominated the most prestigious Danish opera award, the Reumert Award. About Efland´s conducting, the Danish newspaper Politiken wrote "...the balance between soloists, chorus and orchestra is perfect". Furthermore the well-known Danish reviewer Gregers Dirckinck-Holmfeld, noted that the entire performance was "brilliantly conducted by Claus Efland".

Season 2014/2015

The season 2014/2015 starts with a performance at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester, where Claus Efland conducts the Bardi Symphony Orchestra in a Scandinavian programme with pieces by Nielsen, Grieg and Sibelius. Other highlights of the season will include a return to the Fynske Opera and Odense Symphony Orchestra in Denmark. Here Efland leads the world premiere of the opera Other Buildings written by Andy Pape. For the fifth time Claus Efland opens the new year with the popular New Year's Concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin conducting the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg. Furthermore, concerts with the Brandenburger Symphoniker will feature an exciting programme with music inspired by Goethe. At the international Riga Music Festival, Efland appears together with Sinfonietta Riga where they perform pieces from the new CD Nordic Atmospheres, released by Challenge Records.

A Winner

The new CD Nordic Atmospheres is highly praised worldwide and regarded as one of the leading discs with music from Scandinavia and Latvia. The American music magazine Fanfare says the CD is "a winner" and The Irish Times writes "brilliant readings". The review of the Dutch Opus Klassiek concludes: "There is an extra reason to buy this CD, and that's the wonderful recording quality combined with a gorgeous string sound."

Mozart in Brazil

In April 2014 Claus Efland is travelling to Brazil for the first time. He will be working with the Orquestra Filarmonica de Goias and the programme will include:

Carl Maria von Weber: Overture: Der Freischütz.
Jean Sibelius: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor op 47.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony no 41 in C major K 551 "Jupiter".

Soloist: Daniel Guedes, violin
Orquestra Filarmonica de Goias
Conductor: Claus Efland

The performance takes place on the 8th of April 2014 at 8.30 pm at the Teatro Sesi in Goiania. 

Success at Konzerthaus Berlin

„Brilliant as usual the Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg performs, under its much-beloved guest conductor Claus Efland, a superb programme“. 
Attended by more than 15000 people in 11 sold-out concerts, the traditional New Year Concerts at Konzerthaus Berlin set new musical standards. The programme this year included pieces by Rossini, Puccini, Elgar, Johann Strauss and Verdi. The Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg played under the baton of Claus Efland. For the New Year Concerts in 2015 at the Berliner Konzerthaus, Efland will be back on the rostrum for the fifth time. 

New CD "Concertante" released

The first of a series of CDs has been released internationally by Challenge Records. With Sinfonietta Riga, “Concertante” includes music by Lachner, Danzi, Belloli and Jadin.

New Year 2014

For the fourth successive year, Claus Efland conducts the New Year Concerts at the Berliner Konzerthaus with Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg. The 11 concerts – already sold out - will include works by Verdi, Puccini, Sarasate, Bizet and Johann Strauss.

Standing Ovation in Santa Fe

Claus Efland returns to Argentina, performing Sibelius’s 2nd Symphony with the Orquesta Sinfonica Provincial de Santa Fe to great critical acclaim: “Efland puts his stamp on Santa Fe”.