Charles Mackerras

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Sir Charles Mackerras 2005

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 ).

Mackerras as conductor of Britten's Albert Herring in Hamburg, cast sheet with autographs of the participants 1966

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 .

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Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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
  2. ↑ Charles Mackerras is dead on Spiegel Online on July 15, 2010
  3. ↑ Knights and Dames: MA – MIF at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
personal data
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