Born in 1987 into
a family of artists
from Switzerland
and China, Louis
S c h w i z g e b e l ’ s
p e r f o r m a n c e s
are steeped in
imagination, rich in
color and musical
insight. A refined
pianist, Schwizgebel
is hailed repeatedly
for the clarity of
his playing and
his exceptional
fingerwork. At the age
of seventeen he won the Geneva International Music
Competition and, two years later, the Young Concert
Artists International Auditions in New York. In 2012
he won second prize at the Leeds International Piano
Competition, and between 2013 and 2015 he was a
BBC New Generation Artist.
Schwizgebel has performed with many orchestras
across the globe including the London Philharmonic,
BBC Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Wiener
THE FLORIDA OR 60 CHESTRA | 2017-2018
Symphoniker, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre
de la Suisse Romande, Zurich Tonhalle, Nagoya,
Shanghai Philharmonic and Macao orchestras, Utah
Symphony and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (NYC),
among others. In 2014 he made his debut at the BBC
Proms with an electrifying televised performance
of Prokofiev’s First Concerto. He has worked with
conductors such as Dutoit, Elder, Gardner, Gražynite-
Tyla, Thierry Fischer, Luisi, Weilerstein, Shani,
Ticciati, Slatkin, Langrée, de la Parra, Gaffigan,
Rouvali and Gabel amongst others.
Schwizgebel records for Aparté and recently released
a solo disc of Schubert Sonatas D845 and D958. His
recording of Saint-Saens’s Piano Concertos 2 and 5
with the BBC Symphony Orchestra received wide and
critical acclaim, with BBC Music Magazine describing
his playing as “gorgeously singing and wonderfully
delicate.”
Schwizgebel studied with Brigitte Meyer in
Lausanne and Pascal Devoyon in Berlin, then later
at The Juilliard School with Emanuel Ax and Robert
McDonald, and at London’s Royal Academy of Music
with Pascal Nemirovski. He now lives in London.
Born in Hong
Kong, Elim Chan
became the first
female winner
of the Donatella
Flick Conducting
Competition in
December 2014,
as a result of
which she held the
position of assistant
conductor of the
London Symphony
Orchestra in 2015/16
and was appointed to the Dudamel Fellowship
program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
in 2016/17. Chan currently holds the position
as principal conductor of the Orchestra of
NorrlandsOperan, and she has been named
principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish
National Orchestra for the 2018/2019 season.
Highlights this season include debuts with the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR
Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Orchestra national
de Lyon, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra,
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, among
others. She will return to the London Symphony
Orchestra, Music Academy of the West in
Santa Barbara, and Orquesta Filarmónica de
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, where
she is principal guest conductor.
Recent notable highlights include her North
American debuts with the Berkeley, Detroit
and Chicago symphony orchestras, Mariinsky
Orchestra, Lucerne Festival with the Lucerne
Festival Academy Orchestra, Orchestre
Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Orchestre
National de Belgique, Australian Youth Orchestra
and Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria as well
as a return visit to the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Chan holds degrees from Smith College and
the University of Michigan. She served as music
director of the University of Michigan Campus
Symphony Orchestra and the Michigan Pops
Orchestra. She also received the Bruno Walter
Conducting Scholarship in 2013.
ELIM CHAN
Guest Conductor
LOUIS SCHWIZGEBEL
Piano