CARLO TENAN (b. 1969) studied oboe, piano, orchestral conducting and electronic music. He began his conducting career as an assistant in symphonic and operatic productions with Lorin Maazel, Mstislav Rostropovich, Georges Prêtre, Sir Antonio Pappano and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.
Tenan has conducted some of the world’s most renowned orchestras such as the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Konzerthaus Berlin; the orchestras of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck; the theatre orchestras of Mannheim, Maribor, Ljubljana, Innsbruck and Oldenburg.
In 2010 she made her debut in the New Year’s Concert on the stage of the Great Festival Hall in Salzburg. His interpretations of Mozart’s operas Abduction from the Seraglio and Don Giovanni, Puccini’s Tosca and La bohème were great successes. Tenan’s notable concert appearances include engagements at the Konzerthaus Berlin as conductor and composer, productions at the Auditorio Adela Reta in Montevideo (Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Don Giovanni), concerts with Barbara Fritoli and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, a debut at the Rossini Opera Festival with Eva Podles, and many tours with jazzman Uri Kane and trumpeter Paolo Fresu. He conducted the Italian premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Turn of the Tide at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, as well as two new productions at the same theatre of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (2015) and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (2016), both critically acclaimed. He made his debut at the MITO International Music Festival with success, conducted Madama Butterfly at the Kyoto Opera Festival and recorded for Decca with Juan Diego Flores.
In 2017, Carlo Tenan became Music Director of the “Wunderkammer Orchestra”, an ever-evolving ensemble with musicians from major European orchestras. He has also made successful contributions as a composer. His works have been awarded at various international competitions. He is a winner of the UnTwelve Composition Competition (Chicago, 2015) and a finalist of the Bangor Dylan Thomas Prize for Electroacoustic Composition (2014). His piece 4.0 for brass sextet was performed and recorded by the Wonderbrass Ensemble featuring musicians from the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, Gewandhaus – Leipzig and the first trumpet of the Canadian Brass Quintet. Musica per Quartetto d’Arpe (Music for Four Harps) was released by the Tactus record label.
Recent highlights of Tenan’s appearances include: concert with the Sofia Philharmonic, the concert at the Royal Palace in Milan for the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Verdi Orchestra, the world premiere of his Chamber Concerto for Piano and Big Band, his return to Montevideo for performances of Verdi’s Sicilian Vespers and Holst’s The Planets, the Rossini Opera Festival with Jessica Pratt and Vardhui Abrahamyan, the world premiere of Ludovico Einaudi’s opera Winter Journey at Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
In 2023 Carlo Tenan was appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Istanbul Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra. The Orchestra achieved great success already with its first season, with interesting programming and famous guest artists such as Vadim Repin, Fatma Said, Joyce DiDonato and Jonathan Tetelman, culminating in a gala concert featuring Plácido Domingo in front of 5000 spectators. In addition to numerous concerts with the orchestra, the conductor’s schedule for the 2024/25 season includes a UK tour and the release of the company’s first CD.