Around the Music Festival

The Philadelphia Orchestra of the United States has announced that it will welcome Esteban Batallán as principal trumpet beginning next month. Batallán is principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2019.

Batallán, 40, was born in Barro, Galicia, Spain. He studied at the Pontevedra and Vigo Conservatories under the tutelage of Javier Viceiro and at the Galician Music University, where he was selected as a member of the Spanish National Youth Orchestra in 2000 and subsequently won numerous competitions, including the “Maurice André International Trumpet Competition” in 2006.

From the 2018/2019 season, he was principal player of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and from 2002 to 2018, he was principal player of the Orquesta de Granada.

He also served as guest principal trumpet with the Royal Orchestra of Seville from 2010 to 2014 and with the Orchestra della Scala in 2015 and 2018. He was then invited by Riccardo Muti, the orchestra’s 10th music director, to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, told the media about the surprise move, “From the moment I first heard him play, I knew he would be a perfect match for the Philadelphia Orchestra. This is a historic appointment that will have a generational impact on the orchestra’s sound”.

PHOTO：Chicago Symphony Orchestra