Biography

Born in Buenos Aires, Italian conductor and composer Emilio Pomarico is today considered one of the leading interpreters of contemporary music. He appears regularly at the most important international music festivals, as well as prominent opera and concert institutions across Europe and beyond.

A fervent advocate of young generations of composers, Emilio Pomarico has so far dedicated large part of his career to premiering the works of the newest names of contemporary music. He has also built deep and lasting bonds with some of the greatest composers of our time, conducting many momentous world premieres of their works. These include, to name a few, Emmanuel Nunes’ Quodlibet in Lisbon (1991), Omnia Mutantur Nihil Interit in Paris (1994) and Musivus in Lisbon (1996); the entire cycle of Luigi Nono’s Caminantes in Paris (1999); Wolfgang Rihm’s Seraphin Symphonie in Donaueschingen (2012); Georg Friedrich Haas’ opera Melancholia at Opera Garnier in Paris (2008), his Concerto for Baritone Saxophone and Orchestra in Cologne (2008), as well as Ich suchte, aber ich fand ihn nicht in Munich (2012). After performing the entire cycle of Brian Ferneyhough Carceri d’Invenzione in Geneva, Basel and Paris (1996), Pomarico also premiered Finis Terrae at Opera Bastille in Paris (2012). Hans Zender entrusted him with the premiere of his Logos Fragmente at the Berlin Philharmonie, recorded and released by WERGO (2013). Invited by the Teatro Colon in his native Buenos Aires, Emilio Pomarico gave a successful first performance for Latin America of Luciano Berio’s Coro (2014).

Over the past decade, Emilio Pomarico has worked closely with the composer Georges Aperghis, creating several of his works throughout Europe. These include Teeter-Totter (2008), Situations (2013) with Klangforum Wien at the Donaueschingen Musiktage, Etudes Pour Orchestre I-IV at the Cologne Philharmonic (2013), Etudes Pour Orchestre V-VI and Concerto for Accordion with the BRSO at the Festival Musica Viva in Munich in 2015 and 2016, Der Lauf des Leben at the Berlin Philharmonic, with Klangforum Wien and Neue Vocalsolisten. Pomarico directed the premiere of a first version of Georges Aperghis’ Migrants at the MaerzMusik Festival in Berlin in 2018. He premiered the full-length version of the piece at the Festival Musica in Strasbourg in 2022, then bringing it to various European cities including Brussels, Hamburg, and Cologne in 2023.

Appointed conductor in residence by Resonanz Ensemble in Hamburg for 2017 and 2018, Pomarico was invited to inaugurate the Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal through its opening concert in January 2017. The program included the premiere of George Friedrich Haas’ Release, followed by Alban Berg’s 7 frühe Lieder and Béla Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussions and Celesta.

Emilio Pomarico is also greatly involved in opera productions. At Ruhrtriennale, for instance, he led the HR-Sinfonieorchester in Helmut Lachenmann’s Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern staged by Robert Wilson (2013), as well as Morton Feldmann’s Neither staged by Romeo Castellucci (2014). The following year, he conducted a greatly acclaimed Wozzeck at Opera de Dijon, with the SWR Baden Baden&Freiburg Symphony Orchestra (2015). At Wiener Festwochen, he led Klangforum Wien in a new production of Salvatore Sciarrino’s Luci mie traditrici, staged by Achim Freyer (2016). He premiered Johannes Maria Staud’ Specter of the Gardenia oder Der Tag wird kommen with Ensemble Modern at the Steirischer Herbst Festival in Graz (2016). Opening the Aix en Provence International Music Festival 2017, he conducted a critically praised premiere of Philippe Boesmans’ new opera Pinocchio, staged by Joël Pommerat. Christian Spuck’s new production of Zender’s Winterreise under Emilio Pomarico’s musical direction was also greatly acclaimed at the Zürich Opera (2018). In Autumn 2019, Emilio Pomarico led the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra in the premiere of Francesco Filidei’s L’inondation, staged by Joël Pommerat, at Opera Comique in Paris. In 2020, he premiered Brice Pauset’s Les Châtiments at the Opera de Dijon. In 2021 he premiered the greatly acclaimed Bernhard Lang’s new opera Playing Trump at Hamburg Opera, and in 2022 he conducted a new production of the late Philippe Boesmans’ Julie at Opera de Nancy and Opera de Dijon. At Wienerfestwochen 2021, Emilio Pomarico conducted the new production of Mahler’s Das Lied von Der Erde, staged by Philippe Quesne, which he reprised in 2022 at the Opera de Dijon and at Festival d’Automne at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris.

A rich discography of creations conducted by Emilio Pomarico is published by Kairos, Neos, Wergo, ECM, AEOM, Col Legno. A CD of his compositions is also published by Zeitklang.