Sound
Lorin Maazel
Born 1930-03-06 · Neuilly-sur-Seine, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France
Lorin Varencove Maazel ( March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in the concert halls of Europe by 1960 but, by comparison, his career in the U.S. progressed far more slowly. He served as music director of The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, among other posts. Maazel was well-regarded in baton technique and possessed a photographic memory for scores. Described as mercurial and forbidding in rehearsal, he mellowed in old age. Maazel was born to American parents of Russian Jewish origin in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. His grandfather Isaac Maazel (1873-1925), born in Poltava, Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire, for two decades was the first violinist in the Metropolitan Opera; he and his wife Esther Glazer (1879-1921), originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire, came to America in 1900 after the birth of their eldest son Marvin (1899-1988), who later became a pianist and composer. Maazel was brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in the city of Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel (1903–2009), was a singer, teacher of voice and piano, and an actor (he co-starred in George A. Romero's 1978 horror movie Martin); and his mother, Marion "Marie" Shulman Maazel (1894–1992), founded the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. His grandfather Isaac was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for twenty years. Maazel was a child prodigy and had perfect pitch. He had his first conducting lesson at age seven with Vladimir Bakaleinikov, making his debut at age eight, conducting the University of Idaho Orchestra in Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony in Los Angeles in 1938. In the same year, he conducted the National High School Orchestra at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. The following year, he conducted 11 concerts by the same orchestra at the New York World’s Fair. At the age of eleven, he guest-conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra on the radio. At twelve he toured the United States to conduct major orchestras. He made his violin debut at the age of fifteen. He attended the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh as a child, followed by Peabody High School and the University of Pittsburgh. Maazel studied briefly with Pierre Monteux in 1945. In the early 1950s, Maazel toured as the conductor with the Gershwin Concert Orchestra. The orchestra consisted of 25 members and a noted array of soloists. The orchestra was organized in cooperation with Ira Gershwin, to give the public a comprehensive Gershwin program. The list of soloists included George Gershwin's friend, Jesús María Sanromá, Carolyn Long and Theodor Uppman. In 1960, Maazel became the first American to conduct at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. He was chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1965 to 1971 and the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester (RSO) Berlin from 1964 to 1975. ... Source: Article "Lorin Maazel" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Acting credits
6.7La Scala went all out for its 1986 production of this grandest of grand operas, with a strong cast and, most important for a video recording, a larger-than-life staging. The Triumph Scene in Act II is by no means Aida's only attraction, but it is the part that makes the strongest and most lasting impression and it is the visual and musical climax of this production. Stage director Luca Ronconi brings on a procession to dwarf all processions: looted treasures, heroic statuary, miserable captives struggling under the lash of whip-bearing slave drivers. On par with these visuals is Lorin Maazel's first-class performance of the popular Grand March with the outstanding La Scala chorus and orchestra. In Act III, the contrasting tranquility of the Nile Scene also gets a visual treatment to match the music's qualities.
Aida
1985
NRNo synopsis available yet.
La Traviata
2007
NRLa vida breve, an Andalusian opera in two acts written by Manuel de Falla on a libretto by Carlos Fernández Shaw, staged by Giancarlo del Monaco at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, in Valencia.
La vida breve
2012
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Beethoven: Symphony No.6 - Lorin Maazel
1995
NROn February 26, 2008, the world watched as the New York Philharmonic gave the first performance by an American orchestra in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Those lucky enough to be present will never forget that historic evening, when people from two long-divided nations were united through the beauty and power of music. By the end of the final encore, both the audience and the musicians onstage stood waving to each other in a new-found spirit of understanding. We are honored and pleased that through this DVD we can share this transformative experience with new audiences for years to come -- New York Philharmonic President, Zarin Mehta. Hundreds of millions watched the historic concert on television, now exclusively on DVD: the New York Philharmonic concert in Pyongyang.
The Pyongyang Concert - New York Philharmonic & Lorin Maazel
2008
8.0The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's New Year Concert for 2005.
New Year's Concert 2005
2005
4.2A unique synthesis of orchestral music from Wagner's Ring cycle, arranged in a free-flowing and chronological cycle by world-famous conductor Lorin Maazel. Comprised of the four operas of the Ring cycle, "The Ring Without Words" manages to capture the musical mind of one of the most exceptional and gifted composers in history in only seventy minutes. The Berlinker Philharmoniker plays the work with breathtaking depth of expression. Recorded live at Philharmonie Berlin, 2000. Source: Amazon.com
The 'Ring' Without Words
2012
NRDistinguished conductor Lorin Maazel leads the fifth annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2013. This year’s gala concert revolves around the works of Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi, both of whom would have celebrated their 200th birthday this year, and features German Canadian tenor soloist Michael Schade.
Summer Night Concert: 2013 - Vienna Philharmonic
2013
NRThe premiere of Requiem, Andrew Lloyd Webber's pivotal and most personal of compositions took place on February 24, 1985 before one thousand specially invited guests at St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, New York. Requiem won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition and the accompanying album reached number one in the Billboard charts in the US. Requiem is conducted by Lorin Maazel with soloists Placido Domingo, Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston together with the choirs of Winchester Cathedral and St. Thomas, and the orchestra of St. Lukes.
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Requiem
1986
NRThe production itself is quite beautiful: recorded in the Basilica di San Marco in Venice in November 2007, it highlights the cathedral's splendor, the reverent audience, the soloists, orchestra and chorus with near-perfect cinematography. The soundtrack is also acceptable, which may have been quite a task to achieve, given the Basilica's over-reverberant acoustics. Alas, the performance itself does not rise to the occasion. Despite the occasional minor insecurity in ensemble and a visible lack of joy, the Symphonica Toscanini musicians play well, the Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino members sing equally well, and the soloists are more than adequate, almost tangibly trying to excel.
Verdi Requiem
2007
5.2Live from La Scala Saturday 07 July 2007. In this live performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera, Violetta, a courtesan much wooed by Parisian society, organises a grand party that is attended, amongst others, by the young Alfredo Germont. He confesses his feelings to Violetta, who is already suffering from consumption. She vacillates between genuine affection and a realistic assessment of her situation as a "fallen woman", which precludes any lasting relationship with a man.
Verdi: La Traviata
2007
Documentary about the state of the conducting world in the 1990s. Broadcast as part of the BBC OMNIBUS strand of documentaries.
Everything you wanted to know about conductors but were afraid to ask
1993
NRNo synopsis available yet.
From the Arena di Verona Requiem Mass
1990
NRThat year, political tensions between the two enemy states had eased, and the aim was to deepen their cultural relationship. This event became a musical highlight, significant for the bond it forged between these two cultures.
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Pyongyang Great moments in music
2025