Biography

Milan Turkovic is the descendant of an Austrian-Croatian family and was raised in Vienna where he studied the bassoon and conducting. Two decades ago he began to gradually change his carreer as bassoonist which had brought him fame in music centers all over the world into an intensive international activity as conductor.
Among the orchestras he conducted are the Symphonic Orchestra Vienna, the ORF Radio Symphonic Orchestra Vienna, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Salzburg Camerata, the Orchestra Sinfonica Verdi di Milano, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Orchestra Sinfonica die Roma, the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Prague, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Concert-Verein Vienna, the Philharmonic Orchestra Krakow, the Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonia, the Orchestra of the United Viennese Theaters and many more.
He was a welcome guest at various Festivals like the Haydn-Festival in Eisenstadt, the Carinthian Summer, the Mozart-Festival Salzburg, the Moritzburg Festival and the Kusatsu-Festival in Japan. With the German „Ensemble Selmer Saxharmonic“ he was awarded the ECO-Classic Award. Among his special projects is the Turkovic designed performance of „Salieri and Gran Partita“ together with Karl Markovics. This project was repeated with the wind instrument players of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He worked with famous soloists like Michael Schade, Sara Mingardo, Mischa Maisky, Benjamin Schmid, Jan Vogler, Sergei Nakariakov, Gabor Boldoczki, Wolfgang Schulz, Lise de la Salle, Karl Markovics and Erich Schleyer. In the years 2014 and 2015 he conducted a new production of Kurt Weills „Seven Cardinal Sins“ starring Maria Bill.
Furthermore he took part in the film „Tomcat“ from Händl Klaus and was a member of several juries and chairman of juries at international Music Competition.
Among the CDs conducted by Turkovic you will find an album with Haydn Symphonies presented by the „Concert-Ensemble Vienna“. Soloist Wolfgang Schulz on the flute, bassoonist Thomas Indermühle, Mozart`s „Gran Partita“ (Salzburg) as well as the CD „Flying Saxophone Circus“ with „Selmer Saxharmonic“ (ECO-CLASSIC-AWARD 2010) and the „Saxophone Cinema“. The popular Japanese music journal „Ongaku no tomo“ features Turkovic among the twenty most interesting conductors who ever performed in Tokyo.
As soloist Turkovic had guest appearances with many orchestras: Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra Bamberg, Chamber Orchestra Stuttgart, Chamber Orchestra Zurich, Camerata Salzburg, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the English Concert, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Philharmonic Orchestra Munich, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and many more. At those occasions he worked with conductors like Giulini, Sawallisch, Marriner, Harnoncourt, Pinnock, Vegh, Stein, Brüggen and Eschenbach.
Turkovic was a founding member of the „Ensemble Vienna-Berlin“ whose member he was until 2009. From 1992 till 2012 he was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York. From 1967 until 2012 he was bassoon soloist oft he „Concentus Musicus Vienna“. Numerous composers wrote works just for him, among them Ivan Eröd, Wynton Marsalis and Rainer Bischof. Turkovic performed at countless opening nights and debut appearances as soloist. Prominent among them are Sofia Gubaidulina, Jean Francaix and Thomas Daniel Schlee. A large part of his solo repertoire has been recorded on CD. He played Mozart`s bassoon concert four times, one recording on an archetype instrument with Harnoncourt, the Concert by C.M. von Weber twice (the second time under N. Marriner)
He was presenter of a music quiz on Austrian TV for two years. In 2013 his fourth book „Life in Vienna, experiencing Vienna“ was published by Kremayr & Scheriau. Earlier he published three music books „What musicians do during the day,“ „The strangest inhabitants of Vienna“ (also published in Japanese, by Residenz Publishing Company) and „Did you ever!“

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