Biography
“Nicolò as a conductor is very well prepared and very attentive to the needs of the musicians and he has great communication skill, too. During the concert he is very concentrated but calm and composed. Nicolò has an excellent hearing and a great, natural musical taste.” Peter Eötvös
Nicolò Umberto Foron is a young Italo-German conductor, pianist and composer. Discovered at a young age, he has been praised for his versatile concert programmes and efficient rehearsals. During the years of his artistic development, he has gathered extensive experience of a wide symphonic, operatic and contemporary repertoire. He was born 1998 in Genoa, Italy into a musical family. His first instrument was piano; at the age of 9 he became a student of Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and at the age of 14 a student of Anatol Ugorski.
Besides piano, he was also greatly supported in conducting. Discovered at the age of 10 by Jorma Panula, Nicolò was taught by him for the following five years as well as Leonid Grin at the Järvi Academy in Estonia. Throughout this period, Nicolò had the opportunity to engage with professional orchestras as well as being involved in concerts and masterclasses which not only developed his conducting expertise but also helped him build up a broad symphonic repertoire. This eventually led him to be selected as one of the final 20 candidates of the ‘53rd Concours international de jeunes chefs d’orchestre of Besançon’ in 2013 at the age of only 15.
Nicolò has closely co-operated with and assisted renowned conductors, including Jac van Steen, Paavo Järvi, Thomas Hengelbrock, Jonathan Nott and Antony Hermus. At the age of 15, he was able to assist Lorin Maazel; consequently, when 17, he was invited by Bernhard Haitink to his masterclass at the Luzern Festival. Furthermore, in 2017 and 2018 he took part in masterclasses with Daniele Gatti in Amsterdam. He has also had the pleasure to work several times with Marc Albrecht in both symphonic and opera repertoire with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. He is invited regularly to the Peter Eötvös Academy for conducting, leading him to work with Heinz Holliger, Gregory Vajda and Peter Eötvös, the latter of whom remains a close mentor to Nicolò.
In 2019, Nicolò was selected by Riccardo Muti as an Assistant Conductor of the Italian Opera Academy in Ravenna. He assisted Riccardo Muti in the rehearsals for Le nozze di Figaro culminating in Nicolò conducting the final concert. He took part in several masterclasses with Martyn Brabbins conducting Gustav Mahler Symphonies No. 1 and No. 5. Additionally, he had the pleasure to assist Alan Gilbert with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.
In 2014, Nicolò began his Bachelor of Conducting and later Master of Conducting at the renowned Nationale Master of Orkestdirectie at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He was taught by Ed Spanjaard, Lukas Vis, Jac van Steen, Antony Hermus and Kenneth Montgomery. In the Netherlands, he had the opportunity to organise his own concerts and opera productions, such as at the Opera Forward Festival and the Grachtenfestival as well as having the opportunity to conduct the world premiere of the opera Verbena by Boris Bezemer at the National Opera in Amsterdam. Consequently in 2018, Nicolò conducted the premiere of Kamisama by Frieda Joanna at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, the world premiere of the opera production Totem by David Ko at the Academy of Theater and Dance in Amsterdam and lastly the world premiere of the opera Niet de Klucht van de Koe, opening the Grachtenfestival. Since 2019, he has been studying Masters in Conducting at the Royal College of Music. Because he has great interest in contemporary music, he also studies composition at the RCM. In 2020, Nicolò recorded Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 at the renowned Abbey Road Studios in London. Subsequently, he became the assistant of Sir Antonio Pappano rehearsing Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 as well as being taught by him during conducting classes. Additionally, Nicolò is getting taught regularly by Sir Roger Norrington at the RCM in London.
In 2021, he is invited to the final rounds of major international conducting competitions, including the Donatella Flick Competition with the London Symphony Orchestra, the ICCR Rotterdam Competition, the Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest Competition and the Toscanini Competition.
In March 2021 he made his debut with the North-Netherlands-Orchestra conducting the world premiere of Jan Peter de Graaff's cello concerto at the Groningen- Oosterpoort Zaal, Muziekgebouw-Amsterdam and Tivoli Vredenburg-Utrecht. The concert will be released on CD and was transmitted on dutch TV and by NPO Radio 4. In summer 2021 will follow his debut at the Newbury Spring Festival.
Nicolò often performs as a concert pianist with his younger sister, violinist Mira Marie Foron. Interartists Music Management has been representing Nicolò Foron since 2019. He is winner of the Reintamm Award and is supported by Talent Unlimited Foundation and the DAAD. Since 2021 Nicolo is selected by Dirigentenforum / Deutscher Musikrat.
