Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander (born March 9, 1939 in Gerrards Cross , Buckinghamshire ) is an English conductor.

The son of Jewish emigrants from Germany had already taken composition and cello lessons as a child. The nine-year-old's compositions aroused the interest of Benjamin Britten , who invited him and his family to his residence in Aldeburgh for three summers , where he received lessons in music theory and composition from his assistant Imogen Holst , the daughter of Gustav Holst .

From 1954 to 1959 he studied cello in Florence with Gaspar Cassadó , whom he also accompanied on concert tours. Until 1964 he studied at University College London . From 1967 he taught at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he led the interpretation classes and conducted the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra . In 32 years he has toured thirteen international concerts with the orchestra, made five commercial recordings and made several television documentaries for the public broadcasting service .

Zander has been the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra since 1979 , with which he primarily performed works from the late Romantic period and the early 20th century, including a cycle of all of Gustav Mahler's symphonies . The recording of Stravinski's Le sacre du printemps was included in the New York Times ' list of the ten most important musical events of the year in 1992. Five CD recordings with the orchestra can be found in the Penguin Guide of the Best Recordings of the Past 20 Years .

Zander also worked regularly with the Philharmonia Orchestra London, with whom he recorded a number of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies. The recording of Mahler's 9th Symphony was nominated for a Grammy . He conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for three years , and as a guest conductor he performed a. a. with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra , the Royal Scottish National Orchestra , the Irish National Orchestra , the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic , the Malaysian Symphony Orchestra , the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra , the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and with youth orchestras such as the Youth Orchestra of the Americas , the National Youth Orchestra of New Zealand and the Australian Youth Orchestra .

In addition to his musical activities, Zander gives international lectures on the subject of team leadership, for example several times at the World Economic Forum in Davos. With his wife, the psychotherapist Rosamund Zander , he published the book The Art of Possibility , which has been translated into sixteen languages. In 2002 he was named “Caring Citizen of the Humanities” by the International Council for Caring Communities (ICCC).

Web links

Commons : Benjamin Zander  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Benjamin Zander's homepage with numerous audio documents and videos of performances, master classes, etc. a.
• Lecture by Benjamin Zander at the TED Talks (2008)