Benjamin Zander
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benjamin Zander (born March 9, 1939, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England) is an English-American conductor. He is the music director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a faculty member at the New England Conservatory. He is known for his interpretations of the works of Gustav Mahler and his "popular" pre-concert lectures.
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[edit] Biography
Zander started his early musical training in his native England with cello and composition lessons under the guidance of his father. When he was nine, Benjamin Britten took an interest in his development and invited the family to spend three summers in Aldeburgh with him. This led to a long association with Britten and lessons in music theory and composition from Britten's close associate Imogen Holst, daughter of Gustav Holst.
Zander left school when he was fifteen, moving to Florence at the invitation of the Spanish cello virtuoso Gaspar Cassadó, who became his teacher and mentor for the next five years. He completed his cello training at the State Academy in Cologne, traveling extensively with Cassadó and performing recitals and chamber music.
In 1964, Zander completed a degree at the University of London, winning the University College Essay Prize and a Harkness Commonwealth Fellowship for postgraduate work at Harvard. Boston has been his home ever since.
In 1967, Zander joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory where he teaches an Interpretation Class and conducts the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the conservatory orchestras. During his 32-year tenure as conductor of the Youth Philharmonic, he has led the orchestra on 12 international tours and released five commercial recordings as well as several PBS documentaries. In addition to his work at NEC, Zander is the artistic director of the New England Conservatory at Walnut Hill program at the renowned Walnut Hill School, where he teaches a weekly master class.
In 1979, he became the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he still holds. Their extensive repertoire includes an emphasis on late Romantic and early 20th-century composers, especially the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, of whose work he has become a notable interpreter. To celebrate the orchestra's 25th Anniversary in 2003-4, the BPO completed a nearly all-Mahler season, including a concert of Mahler's Second Symphony in Carnegie Hall.
Zander is currently (as of 2006) recording a series of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London for the Telarc label. Each of his recordings includes a full-length discussion disc in which he explains the music. High Fidelity magazine named his recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 6 as the best classical crossover recording of 2002. His recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 was awarded the 2004 Critic's Choice by the German Record Critic's Award Association, and his recording of Mahler's 9th Symphony was nominated for a Grammy Award.
On 19 July 2006 he received an Honorary Doctorate from Leeds Metropolitan University.
[edit] Extra-musical life
Zander has an extensive speaking career lecturing to organizations on leadership. He has appeared four times as a keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was presented with the Crystal award for "outstanding contributions in the Arts and international relations". His book The Art of Possibility, co-authored with his partner, psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, has been translated into seventeen (17) languages. In 2002, Zander was awarded the "Caring Citizen of the Humanities" Award by the International Council for Caring Communities at the United Nations. His brothers, Luke (a doctor) and Michael (a professor of Law at the London School of Economics), are also accomplished musicians.
