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Kurt Masur is well known to orchestras and audiences alike
as both a distinguished conductor and humanist. From September
2000 until 2007, he was Principal Conductor of the London
Philharmonic Orchestra and, in September 2002, he became Music
Director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris.
From 1991-2002 he was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra. Following his eleven year tenure he was named Music
Director Emeritus, becoming the first New York Philharmonic
Music Director to receive that title, and only the second
(after the late Leonard Bernstein, who was named Laureate
Conductor) to be given an honorary position. The New York
Philharmonic established the 'Kurt Masur Fund for the Orchestra',
which will endow conductor debut week at the Philharmonic
in perpetuity in his honour.
From 1970 to 1996, Maestro Masur served as Gewandhaus Kapellmeister
of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position of profound
historic importance. Upon his retirement from that post in
1996, the Gewandhaus named him its first-ever Conductor Laureate.
Mr Masur is a guest conductor with the world's leading orchestras
and holds the lifetime title of Honorary Guest Conductor of
the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
A professor at the Leipzig Academy of Music since 1975, he
has received numerous honours. In 1995 he received the Cross
of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany;
in 1996 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Honour for Music
by the National Arts Club; and in 1997 he received the titles
of Commander of the Legion of Honour from the Government of
France and New York City Cultural Ambassador from the City
of New York. In April 1999, he received the Commander Cross
of Merit of the Polish Republic and in March 2002 the President
of the Federal Republic of Germany, Johannes Rau, bestowed
upon Mr Masur the Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of
the Federal Republic of Germany. Maestro Masur is also an
Honorary Citizen of his home town of Brieg.
Engagements in the 2003/04 season have included appearances
with the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston
Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Dresden
Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Masur also gave conducting
master classes with the Manhattan School of Music in New York
and with the Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra in Wroclaw, Poland.
Highlights of his 2003/04 season with the London Philharmonic
Orchestra included a Brahms Symphony Cycle in October 2003,
concerts in December featuring performances of Beethoven piano
concertos with Maurizio Pollini and Leon McCawley, and concerts
in January/February with Anne-Sophie Mutter. In February 2004,
Kurt Masur toured with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to
seven cities in Germany, Holland, Spain and Greece.
Kurt Masur has made more than thirty recordings with the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra for Teldec and well over 100 with
numerous other orchestras. These include the complete symphonies
of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Schumann and
Tchaikovsky.
Born in Brieg, Silesia, in 1927, Mr Masur studied piano, composition
and conducting at the Music College of Leipzig. In 1998 he
celebrated 50 years as a professional conductor.
Several years ago Maestro Masur started his own web site:
www.kurtmasur.com
where you can find more information about his life and activities.
Back to top >
Read about Maestro Masur's close relationship
with Britten's War Requiem, as told to Hilary Finch
More
>
Read Maestro Masur’s thoughts on Beethoven and the cycle
he performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2004-5
More
>
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