Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras , AC , CH , CBE (born November 17, 1925 in Schenectady , New York State , USA , † July 14, 2010 in London ) was an Australian conductor whose main focus was on the baroque and classical repertoire ( Henry Purcell , Georg Friedrich Händel , Christoph Willibald Gluck , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ) as well as in the Czech (especially Leoš Janáček , Bedřich Smetana ) and English repertoire ( Gilbert and Sullivan , Elgar , Delius , Britten ).
He studied and played the oboe in Sydney before turning to conducting. His years of study with Václav Talich in Prague , from which he emerged as a guardian of the Bohemian tradition, were formative. From 1954 to 1956 he was chief conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra . From 1948 to 1977 he conducted regularly at the Sadler's Wells Theater in London (most recently as its general music director ), from 1961 to 1963 at the Berlin State Opera , from 1965 to 1970 at the Hamburg State Opera and since 1964 also in Covent Garden . He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1972, and Paris followed a year later. Since then, at the latest, Mackerras was one of the world's most sought-after and honored conductors and, since Rafael Kubelík's death, was also considered the most authentic “Czech” conductor of the old school. Mackerras was an honorary citizen of Prague and regularly directed the Czech Philharmonic for decades . In 1979 he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor ("Sir").
Groundbreaking in Mackerras' discographic career was his high-caliber and historically accurate recording of Messiah (1967, with Robert Tear , Janet Baker and Elizabeth Harwood , among others ), which is still considered a milestone despite the mediocre choirs. His recordings of Janáček's operas - which owe him more than anyone else their modern recognition on western stages - are regarded as exemplary.
Mackerras was (together with Marion North) President of Trinity Laban .
swell
- Sir Charles Mackerras - short biography on klassik.com
- Sir Charles Mackerras - Daily Telegraph obituary, July 15, 2010
- Keeper of the arbor - Article in the time of 8 December 2005 to mark the 80th birthday of Mackerras
- Jan Brachmann: Conductor Charles Mackerras has died - This is how the tender teeming of nature sounds on the FAZ website from July 15, 2010
Web links
- A Talk With Sir Charles Mackerras ( Memento from May 26, 2006 in the web archive archive.today ) - Interview by David Hurwitz with Charles Mackerras on ClassicsToday.com
- Charles Mackerras in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Works by and about Charles Mackerras in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ashleigh Wilson: Symphony mourns death of conductor Charles Mackerras . ( Memento from May 26, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) The Australian , July 15, 2010
- ↑ Charles Mackerras is dead on Spiegel Online on July 15, 2010
- ↑ Knights and Dames: MA – MIF at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Mackerras, Charles |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mackerras, Alan Charles MacLaurin (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian conductor |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 17, 1925 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Schenectady , New York State , USA |
DATE OF DEATH | July 14, 2010 |
Place of death | London |