Christian Thielemann
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Christian Thielemann (born 1 April 1959, in Berlin) is a German conductor. He was a student of Heinrich Hollreiser.[1]
He made his US debut in 1991 by conducting a new production of Strauss' Elektra in San Francisco, soon followed by engagements at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1997/98 he became Generalmusikdirektor of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He was originally contracted to serve through 2007. However, there were reports of artistic conflicts with the then-incoming artistic director Udo Zimmermann in 2000, and a report that he would leave around 2001.[2] In the end, he did resign early from his contract, in 2004, over conflicts regarding Berlin city funding between the Deutsche Oper and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.[3] [4] [5]
He has become a regular conductor at the Bayreuth[6] and the Salzburg Festival. Since 2004, Thielemann is principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
He considers himself to be a carrier of the Austro-Germanic conducting tradition, which stretches back to Richard Wagner, and continues on to Hans Richter, Hans Knappertsbusch, Wilhelm Furtwaengler, and Thielemann's own mentor, Herbert von Karajan.[7] Thielemann records for the Deutsche Grammophon label.
[edit] References
- ^ Obituary for Heinrich Hollreiser. The Times, 28 August 2006.
- ^ Denis Staunton, "Berlin's maestros out of tune in race row". The Observer, 29 October 2000.
- ^ Kate Connolly, "Berlin opera chief quits in cash row". Telegraph, 18 May 2004.
- ^ Martin Kettle, "Berlin giant quits in battle of the batons". The Guardian, 19 May 2004.
- ^ "Funding finale for Berlin opera boss". The Times, 19 May 2004.
- ^ Stephen Moss, 'The only star here is dead'. The Guardian, 20 July 2006.
- ^ Ivan Hewett, "Classical choice". The Times, 29 March 2003.
[edit] External links
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| Preceded by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos |
Music Director, Deutsche Oper, Berlin 1997–2004 |
Succeeded by Renato Palumbo |
| Preceded by James Levine |
Chief Conductor, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra 2004– |
Succeeded by incumbent |
