Artistic Director of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra Steps Down

During his 13 year tenure, Arthur Nestrovski's notable achievement was the appointment of American conductor Marin Alsop in 2012

The Brazilian composer, guitarist, and literary critic Arthur Nestrovski has resigned from his position as Artistic Director of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), following 13 years of service. His responsibilities, which include all programming decisions, will be taken on by the orchestra's principal conductor Thierry Fischer.

Nestrovski's tenure was transformative for the orchestra. A particularly notable moment came when Marin Alsop was appointed as the orchestra's Principal Conductor, a post which she was to hold between 2012 and 2019. Alsop improved the orchestra's international reputation greatly; under her baton, OSESP performed at some of Europe's most well-known venues and festivals.

A further highlight of Nestrovski's time with OSESP came when the orchestra recorded the complete symphonies of Villa-Lobos, playing from a recently-corrected edition.

"Five days ago, Osesp and the Osesp Choir, conducted by Marin Alsop, performed at Carnegie Hall, in New York," Nestrovski's resignation statement began. "Loaded with meanings – artistic, institutional, even ecological (in the program “Floresta Villa-Lobos”) – it can be said, without exaggeration, that these were two historic concerts."

"In their own way, they closed a virtuous cycle started with Marin a decade ago, which took us, for the first time, to the BBC Proms festival in London, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Lucerne Festival and many other major concert halls around the world. around the world, from Brazil to China. In their own way, they also marked the end of another, personal cycle, as artistic director of Fundação Osesp."

"Long live Osesp, long live the music!" he concluded. "And [long] live the ideal that animates us, collective intangible heritage, which it is up to us to defend, today perhaps more than ever."