Lorin Varencove Maazel

Lorin Varencove Maazel 1930-, American conductor, b. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. A musical prodigy, he spent his childhood in Los Angeles, where he made his conducting debut at nine and his violin debut at fifteen. He debuted as an adult conductor in 1953 in Catania, Italy, and in 1960 became the first American to conduct at Bayreuth. Maazel has held many important directorships in the United States and Europe, including those of the Deutsche Opera (1965-71), the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (1965-75), the Cleveland Orchestra (1972-82), the Vienna State Opera (1982-84), the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1988-96), and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1993-). Maazel succeeded Kurt Masur as music director of the New York Philharmonic in 2002. Known for the breadth of his orchestral and operatic repertoire and for the rigor and depth of his musical interpretations, Maazel also is a composer and sometimes performs as a violinist.

Maazel, Lorin (Varencove) (b Neuilly, 1930). Amer. conductor and violinist. Cond. at NY World Fair and Hollywood Bowl 1939 when a child, leading Amer. orchs., incl. NYPO, NBC SO, Chicago, and Cleveland, from 1941. Violinist in Pittsburgh SO from 1948. Cond. in It. from 1953. Mus. dir. Deutsche Oper 1965–71; Berlin Radio SO 1965–75. Débuts: Bayreuth Fest. 1960; NY Met 1962; Salzburg Fest. 1963; CG 1978. Ass. prin. cond. New Philharmonia 1970–2; cond. and mus. dir. Cleveland Orch. 1972–82; chief cond. Orch. Nat. de France 1977–82, mus. dir. 1988–91; prin. cond. Pittsburgh SO 1986–96; Bavarian Radio SO from 1992. Dir., Vienna Opera 1982–6 (first Amer. to hold post) but left amid controversy in 1984.

Maazel, Lorin (1930– ) US conductor, b. France. In 1960, he became the first American and the youngest-ever conductor at the Bayreuth Festival. He was director of Deutsche Opera (1965–71) and Vienna State Opera (1982–84). A lively performer, Maazel was music director of the Cleveland Orchestra (1971–82), and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1988–1996). He became music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1993.