Herbert Blomstedt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Herbert Blomstedt, a prominent orchestral conductor, was born 1927 in Springfield, Massachusetts to Swedish parents and moved to Sweden at age two. He studied at the Stockholm Royal College of Music and the University of Uppsala, followed by studies of contemporary music at Darmstadt in 1949, Baroque music with Paul Sacher at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and further conducting studies with Igor Markevitch, Jean Morel at the Juilliard School, and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood's Berkshire Music Center.
He won the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize in 1953 and the Salzburg Conducting Competition in 1955.
Maestro Blomstedt is most noted for his performances of German and Austrian music, such as Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Bruckner and R. Strauss, and Scandinavian music, such as Grieg, Sibelius and Nielsen.
A devout Seventh-day Adventist, Blomstedt refuses to rehearse on Saturdays (the Sabbath), though concerts do not count as work to him, so are acceptable.
He has been Music Director or Principal Conductor of the Norrköping Symphony (beginning 1954), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (1962-1968), Danish Radio Symphony (1967-1977), Swedish Radio Symphony (1977-1982), Dresden Staatskapelle (1975-1985), San Francisco Symphony (1985-1995), North German Radio Symphony (1996-1998) and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (1998-2005).
Maestro Blomstedt is currently Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony and Honorary Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
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| Preceded by Øivin Fjeldstad |
Music Director, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 1962–1968 |
Succeeded by Odd Grüner-Hegge |
| Preceded by Mogens Andersen |
Chief Conductor, Danish National Symphony Orchestra 1967–1977 |
Succeeded by Lamberto Gardelli |
| Preceded by Martin Turnovský |
Chief Conductor, Dresden Staatskapelle 1975–1985 |
Succeeded by Hans Vonk |
| Preceded by Sergiu Celibidache |
Principal Conductor, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1977–1982 |
Succeeded by Esa-Pekka Salonen |
| Preceded by Edo de Waart |
Music Director, San Francisco Symphony 1985–1995 |
Succeeded by Michael Tilson Thomas |
| Preceded by John Eliot Gardiner |
Chief Conductor, North German Radio Symphony Orchestra 1996–1998 |
Succeeded by Christoph Eschenbach |
| Preceded by Kurt Masur |
Chief Conductor, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra 1998–2005 |
Succeeded by Riccardo Chailly |
