Artistic and musical director of Donizetti Festival in Bergamo conductor Riccardo Frizza has been assuming a decisive role in the life of the Hungarian Radio Symphonic Orchestra and the Choir of the Hungarian National Radio since 2022. The conductor has agreed to continue his collaboration with the Orchestra and the Choir as Honorary Conductor in the next three seasons.
„My partnership with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir continues with renewed enthusiasm, as we prepare to celebrate our fourth consecutive year together in spring 2026. This season, our artistic path will be enriched by my appointment to the prestigious role of Honorary Conductor, cementing my profound entente with these musicians at one of the most renowned orchestral and choral institutions in Europe.”
Riccardo Frizza’s basic concept is as follows: the task of musical performing artists is to convey the composer’s message to the audience. A thorough background knowledge of the origins of the works and a deep understanding of the music written in the score help artists to convey the composer’s original idea as much as possible through “stepping into the composer’s shoes” and refraining from presenting their own interpretation. Riccardo Frizza believes that the quality of a performance is determined by the conductor’s depth of preparation and musical culture. In his view, the conductor must bring out the best in the performers by using precisely measured tempos, clear hand movements, and even the smallest of gestures in an attempt to encourage the performers to use the language of music expressively and without any constraint or effort.
„The programme for the new season combines the great composers who have always accompanied me during my career – Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Liszt and Bartók – with a Mahler programme which has already featured successful performances of the Second, Fifth and Eighth Symphonies. This project is bringing these Hungarian ensembles into prominence as a touchstone for the intensity and cohesion with which they perform Mahler’s works. There are five concerts scheduled from 14th February to 10th May, including a key performance on 31st March at the Müpa of Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony, with the orchestra and the HRSO choir joined by mezzosoprano Dorottya Láng. As this new chapter gets underway, I would like once again to wish the artists good fortune and every success, and to extend my heartfelt thanks to the technical staff of the venues, silent guardians of a season which promises to be filled with emotion and great music.”
As a conductor Riccardo Frizza is a regular guest at the most prestigious opera houses, concert halls and festivals in Europe, Asia and America alike. Riccardo Frizza is a returning guest artist at La Scala in Milan; the Opera in Rome; Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro; Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; The Teatro Real in Madrid; The São Carlos National Theatre in Lisbon; Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; Theater an der Wien; Müpa in Budapest; Palais Garnier, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Cité de la Musique in Paris; Opéra de Marseille; the Royal Festival Hall in London; Lyric Opera Chicago; San Francisco Opera; Metropolitan Opera in New York; Washington National Opera; New National Theatre and Nikikai Opera in Tokyo; as well as Osaka International Festival. At symphonic concerts, he has conducted numerous orchestras from among the most internationally outstanding ones. Among others, he has already conducted the Orchestra Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Bayerisches Staatsorchester of Munich, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Belgian National Orchestra, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Kyoto Symphony Orchestra.
In 2020, Riccardo Frizza won the Best Conductor of the Year award at the International Opera Awards event. In addition, he boasts an extensive discography with labels such as Decca, Sony, Supraphon, Dynamic and Naxos.
In the scope of the Hungarian Radio Art Groups’ 2025/2026 season, Riccardo Frizza will perform the following works on the following dates: pieces by Brahms and Bartók on 14th February 2026; works by Rossini, Weber and Schubert on 5th March with clarinetist János Szepesi; Mahler’s ‘Symphony No. 3’ on 31st March featuring Dorottya Láng; Franz Liszt’s Oratorio ‘Christus’ on 22nd April; and a concert with pianist Federico Colli on 10th May.