Lorin Maazel

Lorin Maazel entered the world on March 6, 1930, in Neuilly, France, to American parents; the household soon relocated to Los Angeles while he remained an infant. From an early age he displayed an exceptional auditory gift and flawless recall, possessing perfect pitch that enabled him to reproduce melodies instantly after hearing them. Violin instruction began at five under Karl Moldrem, followed at seven by piano lessons with Fanchon Armitage. Captivated by the podium, his parents escorted him to orchestral performances and secured guidance from Vladimir Bakaleinikov, then assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At eight he directed the visiting University of Idaho Orchestra through Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony in B minor; Russian fluency developed concurrently through his work with Bakaleinikov.

Bakaleinikov’s 1938 appointment as assistant conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra prompted the Maazel family’s eastward move so lessons could continue. Lorin attended the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, that summer. On August 18, 1939, the camp orchestra performed at the New York World’s Fair, where the eight-year-old led one work; the event stirred widespread attention, though a few reviewers dismissed the achievement as comparable to a trained seal’s trick. By 1941, however, he had demonstrated genuine conducting authority, leading a full NBC Symphony Orchestra concert that drew praise from Arturo Toscanini. The following year he directed an entire program with the New York Philharmonic and appeared with additional ensembles, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, before such public engagements paused so he could complete his schooling.

He concentrated on violin, delivering his debut recital in Pittsburgh in 1945, the same year he became first violinist of the Fine Arts Quartet. In 1948 he joined the Pittsburgh Symphony’s violin section. Appointed apprentice conductor in 1949, he held the post until 1951, when a Fulbright Scholarship took him to Italy to investigate Baroque repertoire. His first adult podium appearance occurred on December 21, 1952, in Catania. Engagements followed across Italy, Austria, and Germany. He conducted at the Florence May Festival in 1955 and the Vienna Festival in 1957; his London debut arrived in 1960 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, featuring a Mahler symphony whose structural command and dramatic force drew acclaim. That same year he led Wagner’s Lohengrin at Bayreuth, becoming the first American to conduct there.

In 1962 he guided the National Orchestra of France on an American tour. On November 1 of that year he made his Metropolitan Opera debut with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Extensive guest-conducting engagements ensued, encompassing Japan and the U.S.S.R. in 1963. In 1965 he both conducted and produced Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. The same year brought appointments as artistic director of the Deutsche Oper in West Berlin (1965–1971) and of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (1965–1975). At the opera house he concentrated on core repertory while premiering Luigi Dallapiccola’s Ulisse in 1968. After relinquishing the operatic post in 1971 he retained the orchestral one and assumed additional duties as associate principal conductor of the New Philharmonia Orchestra of London (1970–1972) and music director of the Cleveland Orchestra (1972–1982), succeeding the late George Szell. The ensemble preserved its disciplined character while acquiring greater color within the established Cleveland sonority; he led it on ten major international tours, issued distinguished recordings for several labels, and produced some of the earliest high-fidelity digital releases with Telarc. Repertory broadened to include recent European scores, and staged operas entered the regular subscription season.

A tireless artist, Maazel continued guest conducting and in 1976 became principal guest conductor of the New Philharmonia Orchestra (until 1980); in 1977 he was named chief conductor of the French National Orchestra (until 1982), thereafter serving as principal guest conductor until 1988 and music director until 1991. During this period he regularly conducted the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day Concerts, a role he maintained through the 1986 concert. He stepped down from Cleveland in 1982 and received the title music director emeritus. That year he became the first American appointed artistic director and general manager of the Vienna State Opera, resigning in 1984 amid shifting cultural-policy disputes. Pittsburgh ties resumed with a 1984 consultancy, followed by appointment as music adviser and principal guest conductor in 1986 and music director from 1988 to 1996. Later posts included the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1993–2002), the New York Philharmonic (2002–2009), the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana (2006–2011), and, beginning in 2004, the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic. His final position, assumed in 2011, was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic.

His recording legacy earned the Grand Prix du Disque and the Edison Prize. The Deutsche Grammophon account of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges remains a benchmark that has stayed in print since the 1960s. Complete symphony cycles of Sibelius and Tchaikovsky with the Vienna Philharmonic appeared on Decca in the 1960s; the Sibelius set ranks among the most distinguished traversals of the Finnish composer’s seven symphonies. He also preserved his violin technique, notably as soloist-conductor in the five Mozart violin concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra.

Maazel married three times: first to Brazilian-American pianist Miriam Sandbank, then to Israeli pianist Israela Margalit (both unions ended in divorce), and finally to Dietlinde Turban. Among his honors were the Sibelius Prize of Finland, the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit from West Germany, and numerous honorary degrees.