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Samy Moussa

  • Born in Montréal and now based in Berlin, composer-conductor Samy Moussa is one of the world’s leading composers. Moussa’s work has been performed by many prestigious orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic.

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  • Notable premieres of recent seasons include orchestral work Elysium which was premiered by the Vienna Philharmonic and Christian Thielemann in 2021 and has since received multiple performances worldwide. Moussa’s Symphony No.2 was premiered in 2022 by the Toronto Symphony and at the BBC Proms, and in 2025 the Dutch National Opera & Ballet gave the premiere of oratorio Antigone. Other recent highlights include the premieres of Adgilis Deda by the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck, and Trombone Concerto “Yericho” with Orchestre National de Lyon and Jörgen van Rijen.


    Moussa’s works have also been commissioned and performed by the likes of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Dutch National Opera and Ballet, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has featured as Artist in Residence at Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Composer in Residence with Helsinki Philharmonic and frequently collaborates with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Moussa’s works remain popular with internationally renowned conductors such as Manfred Honeck, Kent Nagano, Stéphane Denève, Christian Thielemann, Christoph Eschenbach, Gustavo Gimeno, Hannu Lintu, Kevin John Edusei, Eva Ollikainen, Fabien Gabel and Lorenzo Viotti.


    Recent seasons have seen Moussa take up the baton to conduct a range of repertoire from Classical to contemporary with many orchestras around the world, including the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Helsinki Philharmonic, Milan Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, MDR Symphony Leipzig, Vienna Radio Symphony, Zürich Chamber Orchestra, Québec Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra and Musikkollegium Winterthur.


    Moussa’s 2025/26 season opens with a feature at MITO SettembreMusica Festival in Italy where he conducts the Milan Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI present the Italian premiere of Elysium and Symphony No.1. This season also sees the world premiere of Moussa’s Flute Concerto for Emmanuel Pahud to be premiered by the Orchestre National de France (cond. Gabel), a new work premiered by DSO Berlin (cond. Nagano) and the premiere of “Ring” for cello and chamber orchestra with National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa. Moussa conducts Mendelssohn's Elijah at the Festival International Bach Montréal, the Vienna Philharmonic will perform Elysium once again, in concerts at the Musikverein conducted by Thielemann, and Oslo Opera House and Ballet present the Norwegian premiere of Antigone in a new choreography by Sir Wayne McGregor.


    Samy Moussa’s work has been acclaimed by critics, juries and audiences alike, with notable awards including the 2020 Laureate of Fondation Banque Populaire, 2018 Villa Massimo Fellowship, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival’s 2017 Paul Hindemith Prize, the Ernst von Siemens 2013 Composers’ Prize, and a 2012 Bayerischen Kunstförderpreis for his work as Music Director of INDEX Ensemble.

    2025/26 season, 482 words. Not to be altered without permission.

Performances

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Composition Highlights

Orchestral works


Adgilis Deda Hymn for orchestra (2024) 12′
3*3*3*3* / 4231 / timp / 3 perc / hp / strings
Recording


Elysium for orchestra (2021) 12′
3*223* / 4331 / timp / 3 perc / strings
Recording



Symphony No. 2 for orchestra (2022) 20′
2222* / 42*(flugh)02*(euph, tuba) / timp / 2 perc / hp / piano (also celesta) / strings



Concertos


Concerto for violin and orchestra “Adrano” (2019) 15′
violin solo / 2*222* / 2200 / timp / strings
Recording


A Globe Itself Infolding for organ and orchestra (2014) 11′
organ solo / 3*222 / 4231 / timp / 2 perc / strings
Recording


Concerto for trombone and orchestra “Yericho” (2023) 25′
trombone solo / 0000 / 4200 / timp / 2 perc / optional chorus / organ / strings
Recording


Vocal works


Antigone: Oratorio for female chorus and orchestra (2020) 30′
female chorus / 3*33*3* / 4431 / 4 perc / harpsichord / strings
Libretto: in Ancient Greek by the composer based on texts by Aeschylus, Apollodorus, Empedocles, Euripides, Philostratus the Elder and Sophocles.


Ahania’s Lament for female voice (soprano or mezzo-soprano) and orchestra (2012/2018/2025) 13′
female voice / 3*3*3*3* / 4330 / timp / 3 perc / hp / strings
Text: in English by William Blake
[version for voice and piano available: Recording]

“Moussa gives us music that is vast: it shines with a glowing radiance, and yet has monumental impact.”

Opera Today

"Displaying a voracious orchestral imagination, Moussa’s sound world is gorgeously eclectic, its full, impassioned range from grandeur to bone-bare intimacy and desolation." 

Bachtrack, March 2024

Intermusica represents Samy Moussa worldwide.

Catherine Gibbs
Associate Director
+44 20 7608 9946
cgibbs@intermusica.com

Aimee Chow
Joint Head of Artist Management
+44 20 7608 9949
achow@intermusica.com

Isabel Pott
Assistant Artist Manager
+44 20 7687 8716
ipott@intermusica.com

All artists

Contralto

Avery Amereau

Actor / Narrator

Amira Casar

Chansonnier

HK Gruber

Harpsichord

Richard Egarr

Piano accompanist

Roger Vignoles

Saxophone

Branford Marsalis