Iva Bittová, Orchestre national dIle-de-France & Case Scaglione
Biographie Iva Bittová, Orchestre national dIle-de-France & Case Scaglione
Iva Bittová
was born in 1958 in Bruntál in northern Moravia in what was then Czechoslovakia – and nowadays the Czech Republic. Both of her parents were musicians. Her mother Ludmila was a pre-school teacher who spent most of her life with her family; her father Koloman Bitto – Bittová is the surname’s female form – was a musician strongly influenced by the land of his birth – southern Slovakia. His main instruments were string bass, cimbalom, guitar, and trumpet. This exceptional ability to play almost any instrument he laid his hands on, whether performing in classical or folk music styles, proved a major influence on his three daughters as they grew up. Both of Iva’s sisters – her older sister Ida and her younger sister Regina – are professional drama and music performers.
Iva attended drama pre-school, specializing in violin and ballet. In due course she gained admittance to the Music Conservatory in Brno, often called the Czech Republic’s second city. She graduated in drama and music. During her studies, Iva took part-time engagements as an actress and musician in Brno’s Divadlo Husa na provázku (Goose On A String Theater). She cites these engagements as some of the most formative and influential of her life.
Around this time she also featured as an actress in radio, TV and movie productions. Later on, while working full time in theater, she re-kindled her interest in playing violin, an instrument she had set aside in her younger years. After her father’s early death, she decided to follow in his professional footsteps as an instrumentalist and by composing her own music.
The Orchestre national d’Île-de-France
was founded in 1974 at the behest of Marcel Landowski, who then became its honorary founding president. Funding is provided by the France’s Ministry of Culture and Paris Région Île-de-France. Its primary mission is to spread symphonic art across the region, particularly with new audiences.
The orchestra is the partner orchestra of the new Philharmonie de Paris since January 2015.
All the marvels of the grand classical repertoire for the pleasure of the greater metropolitan area of Paris
With 95 permanent musicians, each season the orchestra performs a hundred concerts, providing residents in the greater Paris area with a wide range of programs spanning three centuries of music.
From great classical symphonic pieces to contemporary commissions, from the Baroque to our own era’s varied music. The orchestra innovates, and for over fifteen years now, it has created some one hundred contemporary pieces, the Île de découvertes festival, and Île de créations, a competition open to young composers with a fourth edition slated for 2016.
Enrique Mazzola
In September 2012, Enrique Mazzola was appointed music director and principal conductor. The arrival of this new, dynamic and innovative conductor opens new artistic horizons for the music group: a Tchaikovsky cycle, Beethoven’s complete piano concertos with Cédric Tiberghien, collaboration with numerous artists from varied backgrounds, notably DJ Jeff Mills, baritone Markus Werba, cantaora Rocio Marquez, stage director Nicolas Briançon, and even pianolist Rex Lawson.
Enrique Mazzola transmits his experience and knowledge of the lyric repertoire to the orchestra, with performances of several works by Rossini, from La Scala di seta, L’Occasione fa il ladro, Il signor Bruschino, and his famed Stabat Mater.
With a penchant for contemporary compositions, he has brought the repertoire up to date with small touches that include creations with Anna Clyne, Alberto Colla, and Matteo Franceschini, to name but a few.
A rich and committed cultural action: The orchestra’s cultural program is a veritable laboratory that develops ambitious educational programs such as workshops, meetings with artists, educational concerts, and musical shows.
These actions aim to cultivate a taste for and knowledge of the symphonic repertoire among the greatest number of people possible, all the while fostering encounters with the musicians and presenting live performances. The orchestra has a rich offering of shows to please young audiences.
Case Scaglione
The 25/26 season marks Case Scaglione’s seventh season as Music Director of Orchestre National d’Île de France (ONDIF). Over the past seasons, Case and ONDIF have explored a plethora of repertoire including music by Beethoven, Strauss, Wagner, Mahler, Dvořák, Bartók, Ravel, Sibelius, Britten, and Anna Clyne. During the 23/24 season, Case’s tenure as Music Director celebrated the orchestra’s 50th birthday. Among the repertoire highlights of the 25/26 season with ONDIF is Mahler Symphony No. 9 with Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, the Belgian playwright, in which Schmitt introduces the Symphony with a text specially commissioned by the orchestra. In a separate programme, Case conducts Berio Folk Songs with Czech avant-garde violinist, singer and composer, Iva Bittova.
Most recently, Case also completed a six-year tenure with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn. During his time with the orchestra, he appeared regularly at Stuttgart’s Liederhalle, Kloster Schöntal, Ludwigsburg, Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, Munich’s Prinzregententheater, and Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg. Case’s repertoire focus with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn was widely versatile, featuring composers from the Classical and early Romantic period, all the way to late 20th century. He has previously served as Associate Conductor with the New York Philharmonic and as Music Director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles. Case was the driving force behind the artistic growth and diversification of the organisation, founding their educational outreach initiative ‘360° Music’.
Across recent seasons, European orchestral guest conducting highlights include collaborations with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Swedish Radio, Gävle, Aalborg, Castilla y León Symphony, RTVE Symphony in Madrid, Prague Symphony, Sinfonica di Milano and Komische Oper Berlin among many others. In the UK and Ireland, guest conducting appearances have included collaborations with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony and an Irish debut with the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland. In the 25/26 season, Case makes symphonic conducting debuts with the Galicia Symphony and the Opera Orchestra National Montpellier.
In the United States, in recent seasons, Case has successfully collaborated with the Cincinnati, Utah, San Diego Symphony, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Baltimore Symphony Orchestras and New York Philharmonic. During the 25/26 season, Case returns to Phoenix and the Jacksonville Symphony.
Opera titles in 25/26 season include debuts with the Royal Swedish Opera, in both a production of Rusalka as well as a recording of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. Following Case’s previous debut at the Opéra National de Paris in a production of Elektra by Richard Strauss, Case returns to the Opera National de Paris in 25/26, this time for performances of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.
In Asia, over the years Case has led concerts with the China Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, in addition to regular returns to the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Case enjoys close relationships with many of the world’s leading soloists including Simone Lamsma, Yeol Eum Son, Federico Colli, Alisa Weilerstein, Yulianna Avdeeva, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, and Behzod Abduraimov. Case has been mentored by some of the most prominent conductors on the world stage today, including Alan Gilbert, Semyon Bychkov, Jaap van Zweden, and David Zinman.
