Isaac Karabtchevsky

Origin

São Paulo, SP

Years Active

1956

Genres

classical music, opera

Instruments

conducting

Biography

Isaac Karabtchevsky is a renowned Brazilian conductor of Russian descent, born in São Paulo on December 27, 1934. His musical journey began in Belo Horizonte, where he founded the Madrigal Renascentista in 1956 alongside Carlos Eduardo Prates and Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca, serving as its first conductor. Throughout a career spanning decades, he has established himself as a central figure in orchestral conducting both in Brazil and abroad, leading prestigious institutions such as the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra, and the Petrobras Symphony Orchestra.

On the international stage, the maestro expanded his work to globally significant venues, having served as artistic director of Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Tonkünstler Orchestra in Vienna, and the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire. His expressive European career has earned him important honors, such as the "Grand Merit for Culture" commendation awarded by the Austrian government. Among his most prominent recordings is the monumental complete recording of the eleven symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos at the helm of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra for the Naxos label, an award-winning project acclaimed by international critics.

In addition to his intense artistic activity in concert halls and opera houses around the world, Karabtchevsky is also dedicated to social inclusion and music education projects. He currently serves as the artistic director of the Baccarelli Institute, an initiative located in the Heliópolis Community in São Paulo, which serves thousands of youths through orchestral practice. His contribution to Brazilian culture has been celebrated in various ways, including a tribute in the Rio de Janeiro carnival by the Unidos de Vila Isabel samba school and the decoration with the Order of Ipiranga by the State of São Paulo.

Discography

• Madrigal Renascentista (1959)
• Villa Lobos - Guerra Peixe - Nobre (1976)
• Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira sob a Regência de Isaac Karabtchevsky Homenagem a Villa-Lobos – Concertos Internacionais (1977)
• Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Nobre, Villa-Lobos, Santoro – Untitled (1978)
• Isaac Karabtchevsky, Alberto Nepomuceno, Nelson de Macêdo, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira – Suíte Antiga / Batuque / O Garatuja / Aray e Ai-San (1978)
• G. Mahler - Orchestra simfonică a Filarmonicii „George Enescu” din București Dirijor : Isaac Karabtchevsky – Centenar George Enescu 1881-1981 - Cronica Festivalului Internațional « George Enescu » Septembrie 1981 (1981)
• M. Bruch - Filarmonica „George Enescu”* Dirijor : Isaac Karabtchevsky Solist : Ion Voicu – Centenar George Enescu 1881-1981 - Cronica Festivalului Internațional « George Enescu » Septembrie 1981 (1981)
• Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Heitor Villa-Lobos – Bachianas Brasileiras (1987)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos, Orchestre Symphonique Du Brésil, Isaac Karabtchewsky – Bachianas Brasileiras Intégrales (1988)
• Gustav Mahler, Soile Isokoski, Katia Lytting, Orchestra e Coro Del Teatro La Fenice Di Venezia, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Sinfonia In do Minore "Auferstehungs Symphonie" (1996)
• Mozart - Dezső Ránki, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Orchestra Del Teatro La Fenice – Ouverture K 620 Il Flauto Magico / Concerto Per Pianoforte e Orchestra N° 23 In la Magg. K 488 / Sinfonia N° 40 In Sol Min. K 550 (1997)
• Tchaikovsky, Dvořák - Orchestra Del Teatro La Fenice, Isaac Karabtchevscky – Ouverture Romeo e Giulietta • Sinfonie N° 9 Op. 95 In Mi Min. "Dal Nuevo Mondo" (1997)
• Giovanni Paisiello - Orchestra e Coro Del Teatro La Fenice, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Il Re Teodoro In Venezia (1998)
• Luigi Cherubini - Orchestra e Coro Del Teatro La Fenice, Giovanni Andreoli, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Requiem In do Minore (1998)
• Charles Ives, Alban Berg - Orchestra Del Teatro La Fenice, Coro Del Teatro La Fenice, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Quarta Sinfonia • Der Wein (1999)
• Vivaldi, Casella, Orchestra e Coro Del Teatro La Fenice, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Due Salmi RV 604, 605, Missa Solemnis pro Pace (2000)
• Saint-Saëns, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Samson Et Dalila (2001)
• Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana - Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto N°3 (2004)
• Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Choeur Philharmonique Tcheque de Brno – Beethoven Symphonie n°9 en ré mineur (2004)
• Rachmaninov : Concerto pour piano N3 - Piano Concerto No. 3 (2004)
• Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Tchaïkovski Symphonie n°5 (2005)
• Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Saison 2006 - 2007 (L'Accord Parfait) (2006)
• Radamés Gnattali - Orquestra Petrobrás Sinfônica, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Centenário Radamés Gnatalli (2006)
• Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Donna Brown, Herbert Lippert, Robert Holl, Joseph Haydn – Haydn La Création (2006)
• Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Saison 2007 - 2008 (La Musique S'Ouvre a Tous) (2007)
• Chostakovitch - Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Robert Holl – Suite Sur Des Poèmes de Michel-Ange (2007)
• Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Saison 08/09 (2008)
• Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Valérie Fayet, Choeurs Des Pays de Loire – Mozart messe du couronnement - Beethoven Fantaisie pour piano, choeur et orchestre (2008)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos – São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Symphony No. 6 'On The Outline Of The Mountains Of Brazil'; Symphony No. 7 (2012)
• Villa-Lobos: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 7 (2012)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos – São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Symphony No. 3 'War' / Symphony No. 4 'Victory' (2013)
• Villa-Lobos: Symphonies Nos. 3, "War" & 4, "Victory" (2013)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos - Leonardo Neiva · Saulo Javan · São Paulo Symphony Orchestra And Choir · Isaac Karabtchevsky – Symphony No. 10 'Ameríndia' (2014)
• Armando Albuquerque – Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Celso Antunes, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Duas Peças para Orquestra (2014)
• Villa-Lobos: Symphony No. 10, "Ameríndia" (2014)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos – Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Coro da Osesp, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Symphony No.12 - Uirapuru - Mandu-Çarará (2015)
• Villa-Lobos: Symphony No. 12, Uirapuru & Mandu-Çarará (2015)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos - São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Symphony No. 1 'O Imprevisto' / Symphony No. 2 'Ascensão' (2017)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos – São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Symphonies Nos. 8, 9 And 11 (2017)
• Villa-Lobos: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (2017)
• Villa-Lobos: Symphonies Nos. 8, 9 & 11 (2017)
• Tchaikovsky - Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Sergio Tiempo – Concerto Nº 1 para Piano, Sinfonia Nº 5 (2018)
• Camargo Guarnieri, Olga Kopylova, Alexandre Silvério, Claudia Nascimento, Davi Graton, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Choros • 1 (2020)
• Guarnieri: Chôros, Vol. 1 & Seresta (2020)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos, Antonio Meneses, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Cello Concertos Nos. 1 And 2 (2023)
• Villa-Lobos: Cello Concertos, Nos. 1 & 2 & Fantasia for Cello & Orchestra (2023)
• A Floresta do Amazonas de Villa-Lobos (2023)
• Compositores Brasileiros 1 (2024)
• Compositores Brasileiros 2 (2024)
• Lumière - Obras Concertantes para Clarineta e Viola (2026)
• Franz Schubert: Sinfonia No. 8 em Si Menor ("Inacabada") / Ludwig van Beethoven: Abertura "Egmont" Opus 84 / Carlos Gomes: Sinfonia da Ópera " a Fosca" / Alberto Nepomuceno: Batuque (Dança de Negros)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, Isaac Karabtchevsky – Vol. 1: Bachianas Brasileiras Nº 1, 2, 4, 9