Posted on 09/18/2011 8:11:53 AM PDT by Borges
The quiet legend that was Kurt Sanderling is no more.
Sanderling, a German refugee in Stalin’s Russia, grew very close to Dmitri Shostakovich during and after the Second World War. He was joint principal conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra with Yevgeny Mravinsky, effectively his deputy. He would get to conduct the second run of performances of each new symphony after his boss had given the premiere. Mravinsky, a man of deep reserve, had a cold and formal relationship with Shostakovich. Sanderling became a close friend. When I asked him once to talk about it, he refused. ‘I don’t like to make myself look great through my contact with a man of true greatness,’ he said.
He returned to East Germany in 1960 to direct the Berlin Symphony Orchestra for 17 years. A mild-mannered socialist, he was trusted by the regime and allowed to guest conduct in the west, where he worked productively with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and with the Philharmonia, in London. His recordings of Mahler’s 9th symphony and Shostakovich’s 10th and 15th are among the most impressive available.
Through a lifelong friendship with the composer Berthold Goldschmidt, he was among the first conductors to perform Deryck Cooke’s completion of Mahler’s 10th symphony, which Goldschmidt had premiered in 1964.
Sanderling retired from the podium in 2002.
Two of his sons, Thomas and Stefan, enjoy international careers as conductors. A third, Michael, is a cellist and conductor.
Classical Music Ping
Conductors live 38% longer than the general public
http://www.amazon.com/Orchestra-Conductors-Secret-Health-Long/dp/0471346934
I get tired just "air conducting". I'm not surprised conductors are so fit (Giuseppe Sinopoli notwithstanding).
Conducting is Great Cardio!
One of my favorite albums is the Rachmaninoff concerto no. 2, Sviatoslav Richter with Sanderling conducting the Leningrad Orchestra.
I thought this’d be a joke thread about someone getting electrocuted while stealing copper wire. Sorry to see it’s about a musician.
RIP.
All - you might be interested in checking out a new music service, only available in the US since July. It is called Spotify (spotify.com). My classical collection of albums has expanded mightily because of it...So, not by way of advocacy, but just by way of passing on info on a tool that I have found useful. Best regards...
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