Eduardo Lopez Banzo

Eduardo López Banzo, born in Zaragoza in 1961, is one of the European conductors who has made Historicism his own musical philosophy with the most conviction, in order to bring his musicians closer to the sources and spirit of each composition, which results in the music sounding fresh and innovative to contemporary audiences after so many centuries.
A harpsichordist by training, he studied in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt, who encouraged him to champion the cause of Spanish baroque music. In 2002 he received the Medal of Honour of the Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands for his work in favour of Antonio de Literes, but it was in 2004 that he achieved major success, when Al Ayre Español, the group he had founded in 1988, was awarded the Spanish National Music Prize, granted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, in recognition to their more than twenty years of musicological rigour and performance excellence. This acknowledgement leads to Al Ayre Español becoming a point of reference for historicist interpretation all across Europe.
                                  
He has been invited to conduct for the symphonic orchestras of Tenerife, Galicia, Madrid and Comunitat de Valencia, and period instruments ensembles such as New York Collegium, San Francisco's Philarmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Belgian B'Rock, and the Polish Arte dei Suonatori, Orquesta Sinfónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Orquesta Sinfónica Ciudad de Granada.

Eduardo López Banzo has conducted in Bachfest Leipzig, Baden Baden Festspielhaus, Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, Düsseldorf's Tonhalle, Paris' Opéra Comique, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Cité de la Musique, Hamburg's Leiszhalle, Madrid's Teatro Real and Auditorio Nacional, Barcelona's Palau de la Música Catalana and Gran Teatre del Liceu, Valencia's Palau de les Arts and Palau de la Música, Bilbao's Palau Euskalduna, Brussels' Palais des Beaux Arts, Lisbon's Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Rome's Teatro Olimpico, amongst others. In 2012 he will be making his debut with the Berlin Philarmonic, as well as conducting in the Schwetzingen Festival, and returning to the Bruges Early Music Festival.

In the operatic field, Eduardo Lopez Banzo is currently one of the most important specialists in Handel's operas. He has also participated in stage productions by Bilbao's Friends of Opera Association with Al Ayre Español, in Valencia's Palau de les Arts with the Orquestra de la Comunitat de Valencia, and in Kiel Opera with the Philarmonisches Orchester Kiel. He has also lectured and conducted specialized courses at the Universities of Salamanca, Alcalá de Henares, and Zaragoza. Eduardo López Banzo was honoured with the Key to the City of Zaragoza award in October 2010.

Eduardo Lopez Banzo