Latham-Koenig, Jan
Latham-Koenig, Jan
Latham-Koenig, Jan, English conductor and pianist; b. London, Dec. 15, 1953. He was a student of Norman del Mar, Kendall Taylor, and Lamar Crowson at the Royal Coll. of Music in London. In 1976 he founded the Koenig Ensemble, and also was active as a concert pianist until 1981. From 1981 to 1986 he was a member of the Cantiere Internazionale d’Artre in Mon-tepulciano. In 1985 he conducted Giulio Cesare at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. He first conducted at the English National Opera in London with Tosca and at the Wesford Festival with La straniera in 1987. In 1988 he conducted the premiere of Bussotti’s L’ispirazione in Florence. That same year he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera with Macbeth, and from 1991 he served as its principal guest conductor. He conducted Weiirs Aufsteig und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 1990. In 1996 he conducted Aida at London’s Covent Garden. In 1997 he became music director of the Opéra du Rhin and of the Orchestre Philharmonique in Strasbourg. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with many European and North American orchs. His repertoire is particularly noteworthy for its inclusion of rarely heard scores of the past and of various contemporary works.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire