VIRTUOUS, THE BEST | The beautiful .. Cavalleria Rusticana by the composer P. Mascagni in the interpretation of the great conductor and violinist Lorin Maazel, 2004.. @lorinmaazelcastletoninstitute.Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria Rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music. While it was often held that Mascagni, like Ruggiero Leoncavallo, was a “one-opera man” who could never repeat his first success, L’amico Fritz and Iris have remained in the repertoire in Europe (especially Italy) since their premieres..@opusvirtuosus #opusvirtuosus#lorinmaazel#mascagni#cavalleriarusticana#intermezzo#conductor#maestro#greatconductors#greatmaestro#greatviolinist#violinist#violinistas#violinandpiano#classicalmusician#classicalmusic#classicalviolin
| Lorin Maazel (Conductor) |
| Born: March 6, 1930 – Neuilly (Paris), France Died: July 13, 2014 – Castleton Farms, Virginia, USA |
| The conductor Lorin Maazel was born in France of American parents. He was brought up and educated in the USA. His possession of absolute (perfect) pitch and photographic memory were discovered when he was four years of age. His musical studies began the next year with violin and piano. He also studied conducting in Pittsburgh with Vladimir Bakaleinikoff. At the age of seven, he was invited by Arturo Toscanini to conduct the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently led the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in summer concerts at Lewisohn Stadium. In 1939, at the age of nine, he conducted the Interlochen Orchestra at the New York World’s Fair, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in the Hollywood Bowl, sharing a program with Leopold Stokowski. He made his Cleveland Orchestra debut on March 4, 1943, at a pension fund concert in Public Music Hall. At the age of 16, Lorin Maazel entered the University of Pittsburgh to study languages, mathematics, and philosophy. While a student, he was a violinist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, served as apprentice conductor during the 1949-1950 season, and organized the Fine Arts Quartet of Pittsburgh. In 1951 he studied Baroque music in Italy on a Fulbright Fellowship, and began conducting leading European orchestras. In the summer of 1952, he conducted the Cleveland Summer Orchestra (Cleveland Pops) in two concerts at Public Hall. Lorin Maazel was the first American and youngest conductor to conduct at Byreuth. He has conducted throughout Europe, Australia, North and South America, Japan, the former Soviet Union, at most international festivals and opera houses including Salzburg, Edinburgh and Lucerne, the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera, and Covent Garden. He has appeared with all the major symphony orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra. Lorin Maazel began his tenure as the 5th Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra at the beginning of the 1972-1973 season, a position he held for ten years. During his tenure in Cleveland, he appeared with the orchestra in some 700 performances, made seven international tours with the Cleveland Orchestra: The opening week of the Sydney Opera House in Australia (1973), Japan (1974), Latin America (1975), Europe (1976 and 1979), Mexico City (1977), and the Orient (Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, 1978). He brought opera back to Severance Hall in 1974 with the performance of Richard Strauss, Elektra. From September 1982 to 1984, Lorin Maazel was General Manager and Artistic Director of the Vienna State Opera. He was the first American to hold that position. He was Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1984 to 1996. Among his many decorations, awards, and recording prizes were the Comander’s Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Legion of Honor of France, and the Commander of the Lion of Finland. He was also awarded the title of Ambassador of Good Will by the United Nations. He was named an honorary life member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1985 when he conducted its 40th Anniversary concert. He received ten Grand Prix du Disque awards.https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Maazel-Lorin.htm |
Child prodigy, composer and consummate conductor: we celebrate the incredible career of Lorin Maazel, who died on 13 July 2014, at the age of 84.
1. Lorin Maazel: 1930 – 2014
Born in 1930 to Jewish American parents in France, Maazel showed musical promise from a young age. It’s perhaps no surprise, considering his musical heritage: his father worked as a singing teacher, his mother founded the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, and his grandfather, Isaac, was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Photo: Facebook/Lorin Maazel
2. Lorin Maazel: child prodigy
The young conductor made his podium debut at the age of eight, touring America and performing with the country’s major orchestras. Photo: Facebook/Lorin Maazel
3. Lorin Maazel’s first job
By his eleventh birthday, Maazel had already shared a podium with the legendary conductor Leopold Stokowski. He secured his first steady conducting job in 1942 at the tender age of twelve. Photo: Facebook/Lorin Maazel
4. Lorin Maazel: violinist
As well as an in-demand conductor, Maazel was also a talented violinist, giving recitals throughout his career and composing for the instrument. Photo: Getty
5. Conducting at Bayreuth
In 1960, Maazel became the first American to be invited to conduct at the annual Wagner festival in Bayreuth. Photo: Getty
6. A prolific conducting career
In 1965 Maazel became chief conductor of the German Opera Orchestra, Berlin until 1971, and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1965 to 1975. Photo: Getty
7. Lorin Maazel and Karajan
Following his prolific career conducting European orchestras, in 1989 Maazel tried hard to succeed Herbert von Karajan as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The late Claudio Abbado was appointed, to Maazel’s professional dismay. Photo: Getty
8. Lorin Maazel and Porgy and Bess
When working with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1972, Maazel made the first recording of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess using an all-black cast. Photo: Getty
9. Lorin Maazel in Vienna
Maazel also had a close association with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and regularly conducted the Viennese New Year’s Day Concerts. Here he is with a specially commissioned bronze bust gifted to him by the orchestra. Photo: Getty
10. Lorin Maazel: composer
As well as his work for violin, Maazel wrote an opera based on George Orwell’s 1984, which he directed at Covent Garden and the New York Metropolitan Opera. Photo: Getty
11. Lorin Maazel at Castleton Festival
In 2009, Maazel and his wife founded the Castleton Festival, which aims to showcase classical musicians at the start of their career. He was rehearsing for this festival in July 2014 when he became ill from pneumonia – from which he died of complications.
12. Lorin Maazel’s final concerts
The very last concerts Maazel ever conducted were in March 2014 with Philharmonia Orchestra in Basingstoke, Leicester and London. Photo: Getty https://www.classicfm.com/artists/lorin-maazel/pictures/life-pictures/philharmonia/