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Lorin MaazelAmerican conductor, violinist and composer
Date of Birth: 06.03.1930
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel, an American conductor, violinist, and composer, had a long and illustrious career working with numerous great musicians. Maazel led the German Opera, worked in France, and became the first American to lead the Vienna State Opera.
Early Life and Musical Education
Lorin Maazel was born in 1930 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Coming from a musical family, his father was an actor and his mother was a founding member of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Maazel developed a love and understanding of music from a young age. His family later moved to the United States, where Maazel studied music in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh.
Interestingly, Maazel began studying conducting at a very early age. By the age of eight, he was already conducting an orchestra, and at eleven, he conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra, with the concert broadcast on radio. At twelve, Maazel performed at the New York Philharmonic, and by fifteen, he played the violin in several American orchestras. It is worth noting that music paid for his education at the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied mathematics, philosophy, and foreign languages.
Professional Career
In 1960, Maazel became the first American to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival, and in 1965, he was appointed the chief conductor of the German Opera in Berlin. In the early 1970s, Maazel led the renowned Cleveland Orchestra in the United States, and in the early 1980s, he became the principal conductor and general manager of the Vienna State Opera. He was the first American to hold this position.
In 1977, Maazel also started working with the National Orchestra of France in Paris, holding the position until the early 1990s. In the late 1980s, Maazel worked in Pittsburgh, and during the same period, he planned to succeed Herbert von Karajan as the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, although it never materialized. Throughout his long career, which spanned around 70 years, Maazel conducted over 200 orchestras in Europe and America. He performed concerts until his last days, with over 100 performances in 2013 alone. Overall, Maazel had more than 7,000 operatic and concert performances. His repertoire included Debussy, Mahler, Schubert, Strauss, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Beethoven, and other classical composers. Maazel was also known for his own compositions, including several operas based on the works of George Orwell.
Maazel found time amidst his busy schedule to work with young musicians and created several educational programs. In 2000, he founded a competition for young conductors. He was considered one of the most outstanding conductors of his time, and his recordings included the complete symphonies of Beethoven, as well as operas by Puccini, Prokofiev, and Ravel.
Legacy and Death
Lorin Maazel passed away at the age of 85 on July 13, 2014. He died in his own home, Castleton Farms, in Virginia, due to complications from pneumonia. Until his final days, Maazel remained actively involved in music, particularly in organizing the Castleton Festival, of which he was the founder. Musical organizations from around the world, including opera houses, symphony orchestras, and countless students and fans of Maazel, expressed their condolences for the loss of one of the greatest musicians of our time.
