Since 1992, when he conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela in Wagner’s Meistersinger Prelude, Eduardo Chibás has carved out a solid trajectory as an orchestral conductor that is now recognized internationally.
An example of this is the first CD set of all Beethoven symphonies made in Venezuela, all recorded live with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Carabobo.
Sándor Végh, who was music director of the Camerata Salzburg and was twice in Caracas wrote: “Eduardo Chibás has a very tight relation to Beethoven and his special message.” Later he was invited to conduct The Camerata Salzburg on a visit to Caracas.
In 1999, he also conducted Portugal’s Orchestra of the North. In 2005 he recorded, also live, Beethoven’s five Piano Concertos with the Brazilian pianist Luiz de Moura Castro and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela.
In November of 2007, Eduardo Chibás travelled to Germany, where he was invited to conduct Beethoven’s Fourth and Seventh Symphonies at Regensburg, Bavaria, with excellent reviews in the local press. The Donaupost wrote: "Eduardo Chibás sparked impressive energies in the orchestra".
While Eduardo Chibás is well known for his interpretations of Beethoven’s symphonies and concertos, his name is now also linked with another great symphonic composer: Anton Bruckner. In May of 2004, Eduardo Chibás conducted Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela. It was the first time the orchestra had performed the work. In 2005 he conducted the Eighth Symphony with the same orchestra, this event marking the premiere in Venezuela of this great work. Another Venezuelan premiere followed in 2007 with Bruckner’s Ninth.
The live recordings of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies have been praised by international publications such as Fanfare Magazine. In the January/February 2007 edition said: “Eduardo Chibás proves a thoroughly sympathetic and powerful interpreter of Anton Bruckner’s music. His vision is distinctly his own, but it rivals in quality those of legendary conductors whose names come up most often when we think of great interpreters of Bruckner, for example Furtwängler, Jochum, Karajan, Klemperer, Knappertsbusch, Tintner, and Wand.”
In 2008, the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal put on sale a collection of 10 records of Eduardo Chibás and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela with sales of almost 200,000 CD's.
In 2018, Chibás completed a new cycle of Beethoven Symphonies with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela. In 2019, this cycle was published in Japan, which has a very demanding classical music public. Soon after, the set of the 5 Beethoven Piano Concertos with Luiz de Moura Castro and Bruckner’s last 3 symphonies were also published.
Simultaneous with his development as an orchestra conductor, he has also had a career as a lecturer in music as well as other subjects.
Eduardo Chibás was born in Havana, Cuba. He received a BS and MS in Applied Mathematics and Operations Research from Columbia University, New York. He lives in Venezuela since 1971. In 1976, he founded the advertising agency AW Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, today Eliaschev Saatchi & Saatchi. He is President of the Wagner Society of Venezuela.
For more information you can visit his webpage at eduardochibas.com
YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/Furtwanglersound/videos
You can also visit his webpage dedicated to his own re-masterings of the recordings of the great conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler at furtwanglersound.com, where his own recordings can also be found.