Eugene Tzigane

Born in Japan, raised on both sides of the Pacific and now based in Europe, Eugene Tzigane has a diverse background both culturally and musically. From an early age, he was surrounded by music of vastly different origins from Jazz (his first love) to orchestral music both classical and cinematic, and folk music and dance of Eastern European.

Eugene started studying music relatively late but was fortunate to be surrounded by inspiring mentors and teachers. He studied conducting at Juilliard School with James DePreist, earning a Masters in Conducting. Later, he studied with Jorma Panula at the Royal Music School, Stockholm, earning a Post Graduate Diploma. During this time, Eugene won several conducting prizes including at the Gzegorsz Fitelberg, Georg Solti and Lovro von Matačić competitions. Soon after, he was elected Chefdirigent of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Herford) as the youngest chief in Germany at the time.

Since then, he’s been hailed as “a poised orchestral leader” (Berliner Morgenpost) with an “almost fanatical precision… along the lines of the young Carlos Kleiber” (Neue Volksblatt). His engagements have taken him all across the globe including the Bruckner Orchester Linz, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Netherlands Philharmonic, Orchestre National d’ile de France, Sinfonia Lahti, and the Symphony-Orchestras of the MDR Radio, Tokyo Metropolitan, Frankfurt Radio, Norwegian Radio, Adelaide, West Australian SO, Basel, Helsingborg, Gävle, Aarhus and Tampere to name a few.

Eugene also regularly conducts opera having made his operatic debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper (Così fan tutte). More recent engagements have taken him to Frankfurt am Main (Die Fledermaus), Hamburg (Die Zauberflöte), and Stockholm (Carmen and Fedora). Highlights of the 2021-2022 season include his debut with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn and the Tonkünstler Orchester.

Collaborations include with soloists such as Isabelle Faust, Ronald Brautigam and Oliver Triendl. Eugene has been fortunate to work with some of the great soloists of our times including Mischa Maisky, Alban Gerhardt, Leif Ove Andsnes, Vilde Frang, Hyeyoon Park, Baiba Skrida, Håkan Hardenberger, Roland Pöntinen, Lucas Debargue, Alessio Bax, Inon Barnatan, Arabella Steinbacher, and Lise de la Salle.

Eugene’s baton is a bespoke 2019 “Alan Pierce”, generously on loan from himself. In his free time, he enjoys being in nature, contemplating the meaning of life, and long walks on the beach. At some point, he was a half-way decent Tango dancer but has given up hope due to Social Distancing and scheduling conflicts with life.