Following ten years as principal bassoonist at the Komische Oper Berlin, Catherine Larsen-Maguire turned her focus exclusively to conducting in 2012, having acquired an extensive knowledge of the repertoire, a superlative musical ear and an in-depth awareness of orchestra psychology; since then she has conducted among others the Bremen, Magdeburg, Augsburg and Nuremburg Philharmonics, the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the Belgrade Philharmonic and the Slovenian Radio Orchestra as well as the orchestras of the Sunflower and Buzzards Bay Festivals in the United States and the Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico.
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Alongside the standard orchestral canon, Catherine Larsen-Maguire also has a special interest in contemporary music and has directed the first performances of numerous works, including Gordon Kampe’s “Gefährliche Operette” for the Ruhrtriennale and the North American premiere of MacMillan’s Oboe Concerto with Nigel Shore. Collaborations include Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Ensemble Resonanz, Ensemble ascolta and ensemble united berlin.
Placing great emphasis on working with younger musicians, Larsen-Maguire also enjoys working with and training youth ensembles around the world; she was a jury member for the Besançon Competition in 2017 and 2019, and for five years held a guest professorship in conducting at the University of the Arts, Berlin.
Born in Manchester and now based in Berlin, Catherine Larsen-Maguire read music at Cambridge University, and studied the bassoon at the Royal Academy of Music in London, with Klaus Thunemann in Hanover, and at the Karajan Academy in Berlin. She won the top prize in the 1996 Prague Spring Bassoon Competition; in addition to her position at the Komische Oper she also played as guest principal in the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestras.
Catherine Larsen-Maguire – List of conducted works
Adams
Harmonielehre
Chamber Symphony
Ali-Sade
Dilogie II
Arnold
Scottish Dances
Arutjunian
Trumpet Concerto
Bach
Double concerto for two violins
Double concerto for oboe and violin
Keyboard concerto in D minor
Brandenburg concerto No. 2
Orchestral Suite No. 1
Orchestral Suite No. 3
Fugue from “Das Musikalische Opfer” (arr. Webern)
Bailey.
Piano concerto Empty Theater (first performance)
Barber
Violin Concerto
Adagio for strings
Bartók
Concerto for orchestra
Viola concerto
Romanian Dances
Bauckholt
Treibstoff
Bax
Tintagel
Beethoven.
Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 3
Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 6
Symphony No. 8
Piano concerto No. 1
Piano concerto No. 3
Piano concerto No. 5
Egmont overture
Coriolan overture
King Stephen overture
Benjamin
At First Light
Berio
Folk Songs
Berlioz
Les Nuits d’Été
Bernstein
Divertimento for Orchestra
Candide overture
