Lorin Varencove Maazel ( / m ə ˈ z ɛ l / ; March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist, and composer. He started conducting when he was eight years old. By 1953, he decided to make music his career. By 1960, he became well-known in Europe’s concert halls, but his career in the United States grew more slowly. He held important positions with The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. Maazel was known for his skill in using a baton and for remembering musical scores perfectly. He was described as changeable and strict during rehearsals, but he became more calm as he grew older.

Early life

Maazel was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, to American parents who were of Ukrainian Jewish heritage. His grandfather, Isaac Maazel (1873–1925), was born in Poltava, Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian Empire. He was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera's orchestra. Isaac and his wife, Esther Glazer (1879–1921), who were originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), moved to North America in 1900 after the birth of their eldest son, Marvin (1899–1988), who later became a pianist and composer.

Maazel grew up in the United States, mainly in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. His father, Lincoln Maazel (1903–2009), was a singer, teacher of voice and piano, and an actor who appeared in George A. Romero’s 1978 horror movie Martin. His mother, Marion "Marie" Shulman Maazel (1894–1992), founded the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Maazel was a child prodigy with perfect pitch. At age seven, he had his first conducting lesson with Vladimir Bakaleinikov. He made his conducting debut at age eight, leading the University of Idaho Orchestra in Schubert’s "Unfinished" Symphony in Los Angeles in 1938. That same year, he conducted the National High School Orchestra at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. The following year, he conducted 11 concerts by the same orchestra at the New York World’s Fair. At age 11, he guest-conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra on the radio. At 12, he toured the United States to conduct major orchestras. By 1943, he was the conductor of the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra at New York City’s Lewisohn Stadium, performing César Franck’s Symphony in D minor. He made his violin debut at age 15. As a child, he attended the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by Peabody High School and the University of Pittsburgh. Maazel briefly studied with Pierre Monteux in 1945.

Early career

In the early 1950s, Maazel conducted the Gershwin Concert Orchestra during a tour. The orchestra had 25 members and included well-known soloists. It was created with the help of Ira Gershwin to present a complete collection of George Gershwin’s works to the public. The soloists included Jesús María Sanromá, a friend of George Gershwin, Carolyn Long, and Theodor Uppman.

In 1960, Maazel became the first American to conduct at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. From 1965 to 1971, he was the chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. From 1964 to 1975, he led the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester (RSO) Berlin.

Tenure in Cleveland

At the age of 13, Lorin Maazel performed for the people of Cleveland in a concert at Public Hall on March 14, 1943. He conducted music that included the overture from Wagner’s opera Rienzi and Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. The orchestra included 14-year-old violinist Patricia Travers, a young musical talent. Before this, Maazel had already performed as a guest conductor with groups like the NBC Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Pittsburgh Symphony. At the time, Artur Rodziński, who was leaving Cleveland to join the New York Philharmonic, jokingly said, “Look at Maazel—he may be your next conductor.” However, Maazel did not become the music director of The Cleveland Orchestra until nearly 30 years later, in 1972, after George Szell left the position.

When Maazel took over as music director, some critics were worried about his emotional style of conducting, which was different from Szell’s clear and precise approach. Soon after, his reputation improved because Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Eugene Ormandy supported him, and he signed a recording contract with Decca Records. Maazel also helped improve the Orchestra’s programs that teach music to schoolchildren. He planned an annual concert at Public Hall where students from the area would perform in a chorus. This event began on May 19, 1973, with music from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait, and an English version of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from his Ninth Symphony. Over 5,000 people attended, marking the end of Maazel’s first season in Cleveland.

A month later, The Cleveland Orchestra recorded Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet for Decca, their first recording in three years. During the 1973–74 season, the Orchestra toured internationally for the first time, visiting Australia and New Zealand. Because of a busy schedule, Maazel shared conducting duties with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and former director Erich Leinsdorf. The season also included performances of Strauss’s Elektra at Cleveland’s Severance Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall, and ended with concerts in Japan.

In 1974–75, Maazel led the Orchestra on a tour of South and Central America. He also conducted the ensemble’s recording of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which was the Orchestra’s first opera recording and Decca’s first opera recording in the United States. In 1978, Maazel directed the Orchestra’s 60th anniversary concert, which included Victor Herbert’s American Fantasy, a piece also played during the Orchestra’s first concert on December 11, 1918.

Later that year, rumors spread that Maazel might become the director of the Vienna State Opera. Though the appointment would not happen for several years, arrangements were made for Maazel to lead the Orchestra through the 1981–82 season before moving to Europe. During his final years in Cleveland, the Musical Arts Association started a concert to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which became an annual event. The Orchestra also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Severance Hall with a program that included music from Bach’s Passacaglia in C Minor, Charles Martin Loeffler’s Invocation, Brahms’s First Symphony, and selections from Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, the same as the Orchestra played on the hall’s opening night in 1931.

In Maazel’s final season with The Cleveland Orchestra, he conducted only seven of the season’s subscription concerts. His last performance at Severance Hall was on May 15, 1982, featuring Verdi’s Requiem. He also performed this piece on tour at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Woolsey Hall at Yale University. This was the same piece he first conducted in New York with The Cleveland Orchestra when he began his tenure in 1972.

Later years

In 1977, he became the music director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris. He held this position until 1991.

From 1982 to 1984, Maazel worked at the Vienna State Opera as general manager and principal conductor. In 1980, he took over as conductor for the Vienna New Year’s Concert from Willi Boskovsky. He led this televised event every year until 1986. He returned to conduct the concert in 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2005.

From 1984 to 1988, Maazel was the music consultant for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He became its music director in 1988 and held this role until 1996.

In 1989, Maazel was expected to become the next chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic after Herbert von Karajan. However, he suddenly ended all ties with the orchestra when it was announced that Claudio Abbado would take over. He said his decision was to protect the orchestra’s future.

From 1993 to 2002, Maazel was the chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich.

In 2000, Maazel conducted the New York Philharmonic in two weeks of concerts after not working with the orchestra for over 20 years. The musicians responded positively to his performance. This led to his appointment as the orchestra’s next music director in 2002, succeeding Kurt Masur. Maazel conducted the New York Philharmonic during their visit to Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 26, 2008. He led performances of the North Korean and U.S. national anthems, Dvořák’s New World Symphony, George Gershwin’s An American in Paris, and the Korean folk song Arirang. He left his position with the New York Philharmonic after the 2008/09 season.

In 2004, Maazel became the music director of the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic. From September 2006 to March 2011, he was the musical director of the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, the opera house’s house orchestra in Valencia, Spain. His final concert as music director took place on his 81st birthday, March 6, 2011, when he conducted his only opera, 1984. In March 2010, Maazel was named chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, starting in the 2012/13 season. In early 2014, he canceled concerts due to poor health. Later that year, he announced his resignation as music director of the Munich Philharmonic, effective immediately.

Maazel conducted the music for three operatic films: Don Giovanni (1979), Carmen (1984), and Otello (1986). He also composed an opera titled 1984, based on George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which received little praise. He also wrote a humorous piece for orchestra, flute, and narrator called Irish Vapors and Capers, which he created for James Galway.

Maazel was shown conducting the Vienna New Year’s Concert on an Austrian postage stamp released in 2005. He and his wife, Dietlinde Turban, ran a summer music festival called Castleton Festival at their estate, Castleton Farms, in Virginia. Maazel arranged Wagner’s Ring Cycle into a 70-minute suite titled The 'Ring' Without Words, which he recorded in 1987 with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Death

Maazel died on July 13, 2014, at his home in Castleton Farms, Virginia, due to complications from pneumonia.

Honors

Maazel's collection included more than 300 recordings of music by composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, Richard Strauss, and others. He received 10 Grand Prix du Disque awards.

Maazel held the title of Commander of the Légion d'honneur of the French Republic and the Finnish Order of the Lion. He was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz by the Federal Republic of Germany. On May 27, 2013, he was given an honorary membership from the Vienna State Opera and the "Großes Goldenes Ehrenzeichen" from Austria.

Maazel was honored with the Italian Premio Abbiati and served as an Honorary Life Member of the Israel Philharmonic. Additionally, he was named a Kentucky Colonel.

Select recordings

John Adams: "On the Transmigration of Souls" with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded September 19–24, 2002 on Nonesuch.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos with the RSO Berlin. Recorded in 1966 on Philips.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Suites with the RSO Berlin. Recorded in 1966 on Philips.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B minor with the RSO Berlin. Recorded in 1966 on Philips.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Easter Oratorio with the RSO Berlin. Recorded in 1966 on Philips.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (1–9) with the Cleveland Orchestra. Recorded on CBS.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Fidelio with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Choir. Features soloists Birgit Nilsson (soprano), James McCracken (tenor), Kurt Böhme (bass), Tom Krause (baritone), Graziella Sciutti (soprano), Donald Grobe (tenor), and others. Recorded on Decca 448104.
Vincenzo Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi with Antonietta Pastori, Fiorenza Cossotto, Renato Gavarini, Lorin Maazel, and the Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Roma della Radiotelevisione Italiana. Recorded in 1957 on Melodram.
Alban Berg: Lulu with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Features soloists Julia Migenes (soprano), Brigitte Fassbaender (mezzo-soprano), Theo Adam (baritone), Ryszard Karczykowski (tenor), and others. Recorded on RCA 74321 57734 2.
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique with the Cleveland Orchestra. Recorded May 10, 1982 on Telarc.
Georges Bizet: Carmen (film 1984) with the Orchestre National de France and the Radio France Chorus. Features soloists Julia Migenes (soprano), Plácido Domingo (tenor), Faith Esham (soprano), Ruggero Raimondi (bass-baritone), Lillian Watson (soprano), Susan Daniel (mezzo-soprano), and others. Recorded on Erato New DVD CDR10530.
Georges Bizet: Carmen with Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin. Features soloists Anna Moffo (soprano), Helen (soprano), Renato Giarini (tenor), and others. Recorded on Philips.
Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 2 and No. 12 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded on Decca.
Richard Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded on Decca.
Johann Strauss II: The Blue Danube with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded on Decca.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded on Decca.
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded on Decca.
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded on Decca.
Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded on Decca.