The history of conducting art knows a lot of famous names of people, who shared with the audience a unique authorial reading of classical compositions. Each of them made a tremendous contribution to the development of world musical art, and some became famous during their lifetime.
We present you the 10 most famous conductors of the world.
10. Sir Simon Rattle (b. 1955)
Sir Simon Rattle He gained world fame thanks to the collaboration since 1980 with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
He managed to turn the middle provincial musical group into an orchestra, which applauds connoisseurs of classical music around the world.
Simon Rattle is in 6th place in the ranking of the top 20 most distinguished conductors of all time, in addition he is inducted into the Gramophone magazine Hall of Fame.
9. Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989)
Herbert von Karajan I had the honor to lead most of the most famous European orchestras.
He held many of his conductor posts at different places at the same time, only having time to travel from one part of Europe to another on his sports plane so as not to be late for a rehearsal, concert or performance. In addition, Karayan had a busy tour schedule.
Karayan worked with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for more than three decades and left one of the largest discographies as a creative legacy.
8. Carlo Maria Giulini (1914-2005)
This renowned conductor gained world fame for the most part as an interpreter of German-Austrian symphonic music of the 18-19th century, as well as operas by Verdi and Mozart.
Despite the fact that its opera products are not so significant on the one hand, to this day it remains one of the largest protagonists of the musical interpretation of the last century: one should at least recall “Short Life” or “Italian in Algeria”.
Carlo Maria Giulini Conducted Verdi's works a lot, gravitated towards Russian music, admired 18th century composers.
The interests of the great master were unusually broad, his symphonic repertoire was actually inadequate, and his creative biography was long and filled with high-profile professional achievements.
7. Arturo Toscanini (Arturo Toscanini) (1867-1957)
The great era in conducting art is named after this great conductor. For almost seventy years he was at the control panel, showing the public delightful interpretations of timeless musical works. Over time personality Arturo Toscanini became a symbol of deep devotion to music.
It is difficult to say in which particular area of conducting the talent of the illustrious master manifested itself most vividly. His truly magic wand gave birth to real musical masterpieces both on the best opera stages and on stage.
The repertoire preferences of the great conductor were unusually extensive; he had a special passion for the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Along with classical works, he freely added contemporary music to his performances. For example, in 1942 he was the first in the United States to run an orchestra that performed the legendary “Leningrad” symphony of Shostakovich.
6. Wilhelm Furtwangler (Wilhelm Furtwangler) (1896-1954)
This is probably one of the greatest conductors of the first half of the 20th century. Among other illustrious geniuses of conducting art of the past Wilhelm Furtwengler rightfully should take one of the first places.
With his passing away, an incredible personality left the musical world, an artist whose whole existence was to multiply the beauty and harmony of classical music.
Furtwängler possessed a unique and incomprehensible technique of conducting for many contemporaries. The surviving videos show that during the performance he makes rather strange and sometimes clumsy movements, as if he was in a kind of trance.
His gestures may seem somewhat divergent by the presented musical rhythm. However, despite this unusual method of managing the orchestra, and perhaps thanks to him, the musicians under his leadership did find themselves in hypnosis.
His best performances, the most successful performances were filled with a deep and full sound, soaring melodic lines and bursts of emotional climax, based on a completely logical interpretation of the material.
5. Eugene Mravinsky (1903-1988)
Most often, conductors are mature musicians, wise in life and professional experience. However, the example of an outstanding Soviet conductor Evgeny Mravinsky, the most famous in Russia, refutes this unwritten rule - he got up to the orchestra control panel very early, while still a student at the conservatory.
In the process of his activity, Mravinsky offered the public an absolutely innovative form of concert performances - lectures and concerts. Before the performance began, he told the audience fascinatingly about the compositions that the orchestra was going to perform. Such concerts were sold out.
Mravinsky always approached the performance of a musical composition not only as the leader of the orchestra, but also as a full co-author of the work.
Therefore, any, even familiar to everyone, classical music, in its performance, acquired a very special sound. And all because he only knew how to find and fully disclose those facets of the composition that were somehow invisible to other conductors.
4. Nikolaus Harnoncourt (b.1929)
Nikolaus Arnokur Provo can be called one of the key persons in the musical life of Europe and the whole world. This great conductor is a descendant of one of the most aristocratic European aristocratic families.
Crusader knights and poets, politicians from the Arnoncourt family had a significant influence on the course of European history, starting from the XIV century.
Arnoncourt is used to looking at his art globally. Among his most significant projects, embodied by him in collaboration with the most famous orchestras of the world, include the cycle of Beethoven's symphonies, operas of Monteverdi, and the Bach cantatas.
In addition, Arnoncourt is the original interpreter of Verdi and Janacek.
3. Claudio Abbado (Cl. 1933)
Claudio Abbado in his work he turns to compositions of different eras and stylistic orientations, including the compositions of composers of the 20th century, among which Schoenberg, Nono Berio, Stockhausen, Manzoni. Abbado also gained fame thanks to the productions of Verdi's immortal operas.
In the discography of the Italian master - a complete collection of symphonic works by Beethoven, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and others.
Abbado was awarded a large number of awards, including the Grand Cross of the Italian Republic, the Order of the Legion of Honor, the Grand Cross "For Merit" of Germany and others.
2. Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Activities Leonard Bernstein It is amazing in its diversity: he is a gifted composer, known to the world as the creator of the musical West Side Story, a successful and distinctive music writer and lecturer who could find a common language with a variety of layers of the public, a musician and an outstanding teacher.
Bernstein was destined for fate to choose music as his main occupation, and he persistently pursued his goal, not paying attention to obstacles, sometimes quite significant.
1. Carlos Kleiber (Carlos Kleiber) (1930-2004)
This famous Austrian conductor is rightfully called one of the most sensational and exciting musical phenomena of the last century. His creative biography is relatively small and limited to a few names.
He practically did not communicate with fans, critics and the press. However, any of his performances is a masterpiece and a rare example of the highest degree of artistic exactingness.
According to a survey conducted in 2010 by the English edition of BBC Music Magazine, Carlos Kleiber took 1st place in the list of the most outstanding conductors of all time.