T9.MUSIKKOLLEGIUM WINTERTHUR/GONZÁLEZ/FERRÁNDEZ “Júpiter”

The Musikkollegium Winterthur was founded in 1629 and is therefore one of the musical institutions with the richest tradition in Europe. Winterthur stands out in the European cultural landscape not only for its art collections, but also for its orchestra, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, which since the 2021/22 season has been led by its music director Roberto González-Monjas.

The history of the Musikkollegium Winterthur has left its mark: the commitment of the bourgeois families of the 17th century continues today through the numerous members of the association. Especially decisive was the beginning of the 20th century. The patron Werner Reinhart and the director Hermann Scherchen turned Winterthur into a center of European musical life. Igor Stravinski, Richard Strauss and Anton Webern passed through here, as well as Clara Haskil and Wilhelm Furtwängler.

It is an exacting legacy: no other classical symphony orchestra in Switzerland is so naturally dedicated to contemporary music creation as the Musikkollegium Winterthur. To this are added numerous world premieres, recently by Richard Dubugnon, Helena Winkelman, David Philip Hefti, Matthias Pintscher, Andrea Tarrodi and Arash Safaian.

Other axes of the repertoire are situated in the Classical and early Romantic periods. But the orchestra, agile and versatile, also sheds new light on the great symphony, for example that of Brahms, to whom it recently dedicated a recording.

With more than 40 concerts per season, a wide range of musical mediation and formats that cross disciplines, the orchestra maintains a prominent presence.

Throughout its history, many artists have contributed: music directors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Heinrich Schiff and Thomas Zehetmair; long-standing guest conductors such as Heinz Holliger, Reinhard Goebel and Michael Sanderling; as well as internationally renowned soloists among whom Andreas Ottensamer, Barbara Hannigan, Sir András Schiff, Ian Bostridge and Carolin Widmann, regular guests in Winterthur, stand out.

Winner of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and exclusive artist of SONY Classical, Pablo Ferrández is one of the most sought-after instrumentalists of his generation.

His debut album Reflections (2021) was acclaimed by critics and awarded the Opus Klassik Prize.

In 2022 he released his second disc, with Brahms' Double Concerto with Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Czech Philharmonic and Manfred Honeck, as well as Clara Schumann's Piano Trio with Mutter and Lambert Orkis.

Moonlight Variations (May 2025), which includes Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, is his latest release with SONY Classical, with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Martin Fröst and Julien Quentin, with excellent reviews and great success on streaming platforms.

In recent seasons he has performed with orchestras such as the Boston, San Francisco and Pittsburgh symphonies, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, La Scala Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia, RAI, Tonhalle Zurich, Suisse Romande, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Bamberger Symphoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker, HR Frankfurt, Konzerthaus Berlin, NDR Elbphilharmonie and Radiophilharmonie; Rotterdam, Royal Philharmonic; National of Belgium; National of France; Oslo; Macao; Taipei and Seoul.

He has also undertaken tours with the London Philharmonic, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, WDR, Antwerp and the Czech Philharmonic.

He is a regular guest at festivals such as Verbier, Salzburg, Dresden, Rheingau, Sion, Aix-en-Provence, Tsinandali, Tongyeong, Abu Dhabi and Dvořák Prague.

The 25/26 season includes debuts with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto, Utah, Radio Finlandia, SWR, NCPA and Tsinandali Festival Orchestras, and a return to Boston, Pittsburgh, Vienna, Antwerp, Festival Strings Lucerne, Barcelona, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, the Valencian Community and RAI.

He was a resident artist in Monte-Carlo and Castilla y León. The season also included a trio tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yefim Bronfman and European tours with the European Union Youth Orchestra and the National Orchestra of Spain.

He plays the Stradivarius "Archinto" (1689), donated for life by a member of the Stretton Society.

Highly sought after both as a conductor and violinist, Roberto González-Monjas has quickly consolidated himself on the international scene. Recognized as a natural musical leader, he stands out for his solid artistic vision, charisma, inexhaustible energy and acute musical intelligence.

He is music director of the Musikkollegium Winterthur (since August 2021), music director of the Galicia Symphony Orchestra (since August 2023), music director of the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg (since September 2024) and artistic director of Iberacademy in Colombia.

In addition, he was principal guest conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra between 2022 and 2025, and was appointed honorary conductor of the Dalasinfoniettan of Sweden after serving as its music and artistic director between 2019 and 2023.

Among the highlights of the 2025/26 season are new productions of Mozart's The Magic Flute in the Mozartwoche of Salzburg and Così fan tutte at the Zurich Opera, as well as the world premiere of Edmund Finnis' Cello Concerto with Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

The season also includes a tour of the United Kingdom with the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, an Asian tour with the Mozarteum Orchester and debuts as a guest conductor with the National Orchestra of Spain and the Bamberger Symphoniker.

In the 2025/26 season he debuted in Hong Kong, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.

He collaborates again with the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Swedish Radio Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic and debuts with the São Paulo Symphony.

He regularly collaborates with distinguished soloists such as Joyce DiDonato, Ian Bostridge, Yuja Wang, Hilary Hahn, Andreas Ottensamer, Lisa Batiashvili, Fazıl Say, Reinhard Goebel, Thomas Quasthoff, András Schiff, Jan Lisiecki, Yeol Eum Son and Kit Armstrong.

Together with director Alejandro Posada, he founded Iberacademy in Colombia, a project dedicated to developing a sustainable model of musical education in Latin America, with special attention to young talents and vulnerable communities.