Lorin Maazel
(conductor)
Maestro Lorin Maazel was born in March 1930 in France to American parents. A child prodigy, he received his first violin lesson at age of five and his first instruction in conducting at age seven. Performing as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, between the ages of nine and fifteen, he conducted many of the great American and Canadian orchestras.
Maestro made his European conducting debut in Italy in 1953. He was the first American and the youngest ever to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival (1960) and the first non-German to conduct Wagner's Ring Cycle in Bayreuth.
During the past 35 years, Maestro has appeared in the leading concert halls and opera houses throughout the world conducting more than 140 orchestras in over 4,000 opera and concert performances in more than 40 countries. He has served as Artistic Director of the Eutsch Oper Berlin; General Manager and Artistic Director of the Vienna State Opera; Music Director of the Berlin Radio Symphony; Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra; Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra of London; Music Director of the Orchestre National de France; Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; and since 1993 became the Music Director of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munich. He conducts a new operatic production at the internationally renowned Salzburg Summer Festival every year.
The Maestro's special relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic has lasted for nearly 40 years encompassing 500 concerts, 136 programs, 40 recordings, and 10 New Year Concerts which have attracted over a billion viewers as they are TV broadcasted all over the world.
Among his busy schedule. Maestro has conducted more than thirty charity concerts in support of UNICEF, UNESCO and UNHCR.
More recently, Maestro has also been active as a composer and his compositions have been performed by the world's top musicians including Vienna Philharmonic and also by Maestro himself on violin. To celebrate his 70th Birthday, "Maazel at Seventy" gala concerts have been organized throughout the world and he will conduct his own compositions at many of these performances.
