Venue: Concert Hall, National Grand Theatre
Dates: January 26-27, 2010
About the conductor
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur was born in 1927 in Silesia, Germany. He studied piano, composing and conducting at the Leipzig Conservatory of Music. He is well known to orchestras and audiences around the world for his preeminent conducting ability and humanitarianism. In September 2002, he was appointed music director at the French National Orchestra (L’Orchestre National de Francaise). As the 2008-2009 performance season began, he was made honorary music director of the orchestra for life. In this way, he will have closer and more positive involvement with the orchestra long into the future.
Masur served as the conductor of Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for several consecutive performance seasons. When he left the post in 1996, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra gave him the honor of being the first laurel conductor of the orchestra. He worked as the music director of New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1991 to 2002. In 2002, he was employed as the honorary music director of the orchestra. He was the first person to receive such a title in the orchestra and the second conductor to enjoy an honorary post (previously, Leonard Bernstein was conferred the title of laurel conductor).
From 2000 to 2007, Masur was principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was granted the title of honorary guest conductor for life by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1992.
In July 2007, he conducted a joint band of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and French National Orchestra to present an outstanding performance at the London BBC PROMS to celebrate his 80th birthday. He has worked with many orchestras and recorded over 100 albums of music, including complete sets of symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Schuirianri and Chaikovsky. In addition, he has worked with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to establish their own brand, and published Symphony No.1 & 5 of Shostakovich, as well as the War Requiem of Benjamin Britten.
In addition to his artistic achievements, Masur has a long history of participating in humanitarian activities. In 1989, he played an instrumental role in the peaceful resolution of a conflict between demonstrators and the government of the German Democratic Republic, which ultimately helped lead to the reunion of West and East Germany. Afterwards, he was widely known for his leadership abilities. In 1995, he was awarded a Cross Gallantry Medal by the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1997, the French Government conferred on him a third-grade Legion of Honor of France, and the New York Municipal Government granted him the title of New York Cultural Messenger. In July 2004, the Bonn Beethoven Former Residence Management Committee members unanimously agreed to appoint Masur as the chairman of the committee. He was also an honorary citizen of Brig, Switzerland, where he lived for many years.
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