Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020–2021 season. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the seasons ahead, creating extraordinary music and establishing a close relationship with the orchestra. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.

In December, Bignamini returned to Detroit to lead a triumphant performance of Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, Strauss’s Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” He returned again in May 2021 to conduct four programs including performances with violinist Midori and pianist Orli Shaham.

A native of Crema, Italy, Bignamini studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the operatic arias of legends like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Jader explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.

In the years since, Bignamini has conducted some of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras and opera companies in venues across the globe including working with Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in 2013 and his concert debut at La Scala in 2015 for the opening season of La Verdi Orchestra. Recent highlights include debuts with the Houston, Dallas, and Minnesota symphonies; Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera (Madama Butterfly); Bayerische Staatsoper (La Traviata); I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; return engagements with Oper Frankfurt (La forza del destino) and Santa Fe Opera (La Bohème); Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi; Traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot at Arena of Verona; Il Trovatoreand Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, and Manon Lescaut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Simon Boccanegra and La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; Ciro in Babilonia at Rossini Opera Festival and La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.

When Bignamini leads an orchestra in symphonic repertoire, he conducts without a score, preferring to make direct eye contact with the musicians. He conducts from the heart, forging a profound connection with his musicians that shines through both onstage and off. He both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.

Augustin Hadelich is considered “one of the best violinists in the world” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag). His playing combines virtues that are rarely found side by side: the magical intensity of the legendary string players of times gone by is blended with virtuosic perfection, and an artistic attitude fundamentally focused not on the instrument, but on the composition and its style. With his repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the present day, Hadelich is also a media-savvy communicator, whose video tutorials on topics related to violin playing (“Ask Augustin”) are proving extremely popular. 

Hadelich’s present standing is the result of a development that has been as continuous as it has been consistent over many years. After winning the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 2006, and initially being celebrated mainly in the US, the violinist (raised in Italy) has in recent years made his debut at all the major European festivals and established himself as one of the most sought-after soloists worldwide. 

In 2016, Hadelich won a Grammy Award for his recording of Henri Dutilleux’s violin concerto L’Arbre des songes. Among his numerous recordings–since 2018 as an exclusive artist with Warner Classics–his interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (2021) stands out, having received a unanimously rapturous press response. His most recent release, Recuerdos, is dedicated to moments inspired by Spain in concertante works by Britten, Prokofiev, and Sarasate.  

In 2021, Augustin Hadelich was appointed to the faculty of the Yale School of Music and, in addition to his international career, continues to give masterclasses, including Aspen Music Festival, Curtis Institute of Music, University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, and the Kronberg Academy in Germany. 

Augustin Hadelich plays a 1744 violin by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, known as Leduc, ex Szeryng, on loan from the Tarisio Trust.