Pablo Heras-Casado has been described by the New York Times as “the thinking person’s idea of a hotshot young conductor”, although his character is better reflected in the quality of the long-term relationships he has developed with orchestras ranging from the San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic to the Philharmonia Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra; from Staatskapelle Berlin and the Mariinsky Orchestra to Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Freiburg Baroque Orchestra; and as Conductor Laureate of Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York, and Principal Guest Conductor of Teatro Real, Madrid. That character also underlies his commitment as an ambassador for the Spanish charity Ayuda en Acción, supporting and promoting its work to eradicate poverty and injustice internationally.
Heras-Casado enjoys an unusually varied career encompassing the great symphonic and operatic repertoire, historically informed performance and cutting-edge contemporary scores. In 2016/17 he returns to the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, San Francisco Symphony and the Philharmonia Orchestra. He is re-invited to the Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Salzburg’s Mozartwoche. He continues his touring and recording partnerships with the Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble in Monteverdi’s Selva morale e spirituale, and Freiburger Barockorchester, focusing on the works of Mendelssohn, including his violin concerto with Isabelle Faust. Opera projects include Le Nozze di Figaro at Staatsoper Berlin, Carmen with Orchestre de Paris at Festival d’Aix en Provence and Der Fliegende Holländer at Teatro Real.
Recent seasons have also seen him conduct the Metropolitan Opera, Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Royal Concertgebouw and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras, Wiener Symphoniker and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared several times with Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble intercontemporain, at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and Salzburger Festspiele, as well as at the Lucerne Festival, where he co-directed the Academy under Pierre Boulez.
Heras-Casado records for harmonia mundi, as well as Deutsche Grammophon’s Archiv Produktion. He has received numerous prizes for his recordings, including three ECHO Klassik awards, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, two Diapason d’Or and a Latin Grammy. Recent releases on harmonia mundi include Mendelssohn’s Symphonies Nos.3 & 4, and Schumann’s violin, piano and cello concertos with Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov and Jean-Guihen Queyras. For Deutsche Grammophon, he has recorded albums featuring the legendary castrato singer and maestro Farinelli, as well as the works by Jacob, Hieronymus and Michael Praetorius, and a DVD of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. He also appears on a Sony release of Verdi’s baritone arias with Plácido Domingo and a new DVD of La Traviata from Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and directed Decca’s recent recording of Shostakovich’s cello concertos with Alisa Weilerstein and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Musical America’s 2014 Conductor of the Year, Pablo Heras-Casado holds the Medalla de Honor of the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation and the Ambassador Award of the Regional Government of Andalusia. In February 2012 he was awarded the Golden Medal of Merit by the Council of Granada, his hometown, of which he is also an Honorary Ambassador. He is an Honorary Citizen of the Province of Granada.