English

The Brazilian conductor Ligia Amadio was the first woman to win a ward in 30 years at the Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting, in 1997. She won the first prize at the II Latin-American Competition for Conducting in Santiago, Chile, in March 1998. She has received the prize “Best Conductor of the Year” in Brazil, awarded by APCA (São Paulo Association of Critics of Art) in 2001, conducting the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP). In 2012 she was distinguished again as “Best Conductor” by the Carlos Gomes Award, in Brazil, among another prizes.

“Ligia Amadio is a highly gifted conductor. I have played under her baton and I noticed how well prepared the orchestra was and every detail taken care of. During the performance, she is extraordinarily inspiring and reliable.” (Martha Argerich)

Acclaimed for her high artistic standards, her charisma, and her expressive performances, Ligia Amadio is considered by the critics as one of the finest Latin American conductors of our time. With a passionate and intense personality, she has been praised by huge artists for her energetic, natural stage-presence and her versatile technical dexterity.

Her musical activities extend throughout Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cuba, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, México, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Thailand, United States of America, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Ligia Amadio enjoys a successful career as a conductor, in light of over 30 years of performance experience, acquired from positions held as both artistic director and manager of major orchestras. For 12 years, she was the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil, she has also served as chief conductor and artistic director of the Campinas Symphony Orchestra, and the University of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra; in Argentina, of the Mendoza Philharmonic Orchestra and the National University of Cuyo Symphony Orchestra; in Colombia, of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra; in Uruguay, of the Montevideo Philharmonic Orchestra. In early 2023, she took over the direction of the Minas Gerais Symphony Orchestra, in her country. In all the above-mentioned orchestras, she was elected by the musicians.

In Japan, she was the first woman in 30 years to receive an award in the renowned Tokyo International Conducting Competition in 1997. In the following year, she won the 2nd Latin American Competition of Orchestra Conductors in Santiago, Chile. In the Netherlands, she was selected among the four best of 180 candidates from around the world to attend the 35th Kirill Kondrashin Masterclass, when she was honoured to conduct the famous Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In Brazil, the Maestra was awarded by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics as the "Best Conductor of the Year" 2001 and, in the same category, she received the Carlos Gomes Award, in 2012. The most recent recognitions she has received were the Alumni University of São Paulo Award, and the Order of Rio Branco, the highest award of Brazilian Diplomacy, for services rendered to Brazil in all countries where she has operated.

Ms. Amadio has guest-conducted approximately 80 orchestras in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Highlights of her international conducting appearances include Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra, Simfoniki RTV Slovenija, State of São Paulo Symphonic Orchestra, Baden-Badener Philharmonie, Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra, Chile National Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, Argentinian National Symphonic Orchestra, Orkiestrę Symfoniczną Filharmonii Szczecińskiej, Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Czestochowskiej, Ensemble Contrechamps, Savaria Symphony Orchestra, The Congress Symphony Orchestra, Silesian Opera Orchestra, Arpeggione Städtisches Kammerorchester, Israel Chamber Orchestra, State of México Symphony Orchestra, Sodre Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Moldova, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, in addition to the most important Latin American orchestras.

Among the soloists who have performed under Ligia Amadio's baton are Alexander Kniazev, Anatoli Krastev, Andrea Lucchesini, Antonio Meneses, Boris Berezovski, Boris Pergamenschikow, Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Dang Thai Son, Darrett Adkins, Denis Kohzukhin, Dieter Flury, Dora Schwartzberg, Eduardo Isaak, Fany Solter, Gautier Capuçon, Homero Francesch, Ieva Jokubaviciute, Jan Krzystof Broja, John Lill, José Feghali, Joseph Banowetz, Krzysztof Pelech, Martha Argerich, Midori, Natalie Clein, Nelson Freire, Patrycja Piekutowska, Pepe Romero, Peter Donohoe, Ray Chen, Renaud Capuçon, Richard Markson, Shlomo Mintz, Sylvia Cápová-Vizváryová, Yang Liu, Yi-Jia Susanne Hou, Yeol Eum Son, Zuill Bailey.

In recent years, Ligia Amadio has increased her operatic activity, and conducted titles such as Bluebeard`s Castle, by Bartók, Lucia di Lammermoor, by Donizetti, Cavalleria Rusticana, by Mascagni, The Magic Flute, Così fan tutte and Le Nozze di Fígaro, by Mozart, Tosca, La Bohème and Gianni Schicchi, by Puccini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, by Rossini, Nabucco and Il Trovatore, by Verdi, Magdalena, by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Devoção (World première), by João Guilherme Ripper, Matraga, by Rufo Herrera, Aurora, by Héctor Panizza.

In 2016, Ligia Amadio created the International Symposium for Women Conductors, a permanent space for reflection on the role of women conductors in the professional scene of Classical Music. For this project, she was nominated for the final 2019 Classical: NEXT Innovation Award in Rotterdam, and she won the National Classical award, in Buenos Aires, in 2022. About the subject, she was invited to give a conference for the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, in the United States, in 2023. The fifth edition of the International Symposium, under her direction, will take place in Spain in October 2025.

She began studying piano at the age of five and graduated from the Dramatic and Musical Conservatory of São Paulo. She holds a degree in Production Engineering, a bachelor's degree in Conducting and a master’s in arts from the State University of Campinas, and a PhD in Music from the State University of São Paulo. Her main tutors in Brazil were Eleazar de Carvalho, Henrique Gregori, and Hans-Joachim Koellreutter. Ligia Amadio has attended several international specialization courses of orchestral conducting, having important mentors such as Ferdinand Leitner in Siena, Kurt Masur, in São Paulo, Julius Kalmar in Vienna, Dominique Rouits in Hungary, Georg Tintner in Czech Republic, Alexander Polishuk and Eugeni Yergemsky in Saint Petersburg, Guillermo Scarabino in Venezuela, and Sir Edward Downes, in the 35th International Kirill Kondrashin Conductors Masterclass, Netherlands.

Ligia Amadio has extensive teaching experience. She has taught classes and masterclasses in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the United States and Mexico. Next November, she will teach an international postgraduate conducting course with the participation of the Argentine National Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with the Department of Musical Arts at the National University of the Arts in Buenos Aires. The course attracted the interest of more than 150 candidates from various countries in the Americas and Europe.

Her discography includes eleven CDs and five DVDs, recorded under her direction, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Brazil (UFF), the Symphony Orchestra of RTV in Slovenia, and the Symphony Orchestra of Cuyo National University. Among these is the collection “Música Brasileira no Tempo” (Brazilian Music through Time), released under the auspices of the Brazilian Ministry of Education, and whose intellectual content is entirely of her creation. Between 2000 and 2003, Ligia produced and hosted a radio program dedicated to Music and Literature on Radio MEC (run by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Brazil).