David Hernando Rico

music director of the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra

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David Hernando Rico is a Spanish orchestra conductor and recording producer based in Central Europe. He is the founder and Music Director of the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and has developed a career spanning symphonic and operatic repertoire, film and video game music, and international recording productions.

With more than 900 recording projects to his credit, Hernando has extensive experience conducting orchestral sessions for classical, film, television, video game and popular music productions. His recording work includes projects involving internationally renowned composers such as Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe, Brian Tyler, Roque Baños and Joan Valent, as well as artists including Michel Legrand, Raphael and Rocío Jurado.

His recordings and productions have been released by major international labels and companies including Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music, and his work has brought him into collaboration with composers, producers and clients from across Europe, the United States and Asia.

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Conducting Career

As a guest conductor, David Hernando Rico has worked extensively with orchestras in Central Europe and Spain.

In Slovakia, he has conducted the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Košice State Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina, Camerata Slovaca and Capella Istropolitana, among others. His operatic work includes appearances with the Slovak National Opera.

In the Czech Republic, he has conducted the Brno State Opera Orchestra and appeared at the National Theatre Brno, including its New Year's Eve and New Year's concerts.

In Spain, he has been invited to conduct the Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra (OSPA), Extremadura Orchestra (OEX), Castile and León Symphony Orchestra (OSCyL) and the Real Filharmonía de Galicia.

His operatic repertoire includes works such as Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, L'elisir d'amore, I Puritani and Smetana's The Bartered Bride, alongside a broad symphonic repertoire.

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Bratislava Symphony Orchestra & Recording​

Hernando founded the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra with the aim of bringing together high-level symphonic performance and the flexibility required by the international recording industry.

Under his musical direction, the orchestra has developed an extensive catalogue encompassing film scores, video game soundtracks, classical recordings, pop productions and contemporary music.

This combination of conducting and recording experience has become a defining aspect of Hernando's professional profile. His work regularly requires navigating the different demands of the concert hall and recording studio, from traditional symphonic repertoire to complex studio sessions involving click tracks, synchronization and large-scale audiovisual productions.

With the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, he has also appeared in concert projects ranging from film music to Spanish repertoire and zarzuela, including performances at international festivals.

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Spanish & Latin American Repertoire

An important part of Hernando's artistic work has been the promotion of Spanish and Latin American music in Central Europe.

His projects have included performances and premieres of Spanish repertoire in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as the world premiere of Tanausú, an oratorio by Canarian composer Paco Viciana, in collaboration with Slovak Radio.

He also conducted the choral and orchestral version of Ariel Ramírez's Misa Criolla in a project with the Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina.

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Education

Born in Valladolid, Spain, David Hernando Rico began his musical studies at the conservatory in his hometown before continuing his education in Bratislava.

At the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU), he completed his Master's degree with specializations in Orchestral Conducting, Opera Conducting and Piano Accompaniment. He was selected to conduct the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra for his graduation concert.

His conducting studies included work with Bystrík Režucha, Róbert Stankovský and Viktor Málek, among other influential figures in the Central European conducting tradition.

Hernando subsequently completed his doctoral studies (PhD) at VŠMU with the support of a scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He later taught in the Academy's Department of Music Theory.

Today, his work combines concert conducting, opera and more than two decades of professional orchestral recording experience, with a particular focus on projects that connect classical orchestral performance with film, audiovisual media and contemporary production.