Maximiano Valdés

One of the most recognised Latin American conductors, Maximiano Valdés has made a significant mark on the global music scene. Since 2008, he has served as music director and principal conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico and artistic director of the prestigious Festival Casals in San Juan since 2010. Valdés was music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in Spain for more than 16 years and is now conductor laureate. He also led the Buffalo Philharmonic for more than a decade and has held leadership roles with Orquesta Euskadi in Spain, Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago in Chile, and Orquesta Nacional de España. His conducting is commended for its precision, confidence, and emotional depth. 

Valdés developed his career in North America, leading major ensembles like the Philadelphia Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, among others.

In Europe, he has conducted prestigious ensembles including the Dresdner Philharmonie, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Filarmónica de Lisboa, and Orquesta Sinfónica de España. Notably, Valdés conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias for a concert with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2011 and was one of the first international conductors to lead the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba in Havana in 2016. His deep relationship with Venezuela’s El Sistema is a cornerstone of his career.

As an opera conductor, his repertoire spans Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini, Gounod, Berlioz, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, and Poulenc, as well as contemporary composers like Golijov. He conducted Norma, Don Carlo, and Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra de Paris, and has appeared at renowned venues such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Seattle Opera, Opéra de Nice, Lausanne Opera House, Teatro Bellini in Catania, Bonn Opera, Rome Opera House, and Oslo Opera House.

Valdés studied piano and violin at the conservatory in Chile, before focusing on conducting at Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, under Franco Ferrara and Sergiu Celibidache. He began his career in 1976 as assistant conductor at Teatro La Fenice, and the following year became Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood, working with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa. He won first prizes at the Nikolai Malko and Vittorio Gui Competitions, and second prize at the Rupert Foundation Conducting Competition.

He was appointed distinguished professor of Musicology at the University of Puerto Rico and holds an honorary doctorate degree. His discography includes recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. He also recorded a series of works by Latin American and Spanish composers with the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar for Naxos. His recent CD offers works by Roberto Sierra with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico.