Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. Armin Jordan was born in

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a full mouth, often twisted in a sardonic smile, and his powerful physical presence belied the careful near-understatement of his conducting", noted ''The New York Times'' in his

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

. Jordan was most unusual at a time when conductors flew about the world from one engagement to another. For the most part he stayed close to home in Switzerland and France. After leading a number of Swiss orchestras he became principal conductor of the

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History Er ...

, Geneva, in 1985, a position he held until 1997. Armin Jordan did not conduct in the United States until 1985. He appeared in Seattle and New York City. Seattle scheduled him for Wagner's ''

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

'' in 2000 and 2001, but he had to withdraw after a few performances in 2000 because of illness. For the same reason, he canceled his debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

in New York in 2001. He was to have conducted Mozart's ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

''. His son, the conductor

Philippe Jordan Philippe Jordan (born 18 October 1974) is a Swiss conductor and pianist. Biography Born in Zürich, the son of conductor Armin Jordan, he began to study piano at the age of six. At age eight, he joined the Zürcher Sängerknaben. He has ackno ...

, made his own debut at the Met in 2002. Armin Jordan died in Zürich five days after he collapsed while conducting

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...

's opera ''

The Love for Three Oranges ''The Love for Three Oranges'', Op. 33, also known by its French language title ' (russian: Любовь к трём апельсинам, links=no, ''Lyubov' k tryom apel'sinam''), is a satirical opera by Sergei Prokofiev. Its French libretto ...

'' at the opera house in Basel. In addition to Philippe, his survivors are his widow Kate and his daughter Pascale.

Selected discography

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of a ...

: Symphony, Op. 20; ''Viviane'', Op. 5, Basel Symphony Orchestra. Erato/Warner B000F4ASUS. *

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...

: '' Le Chasseur maudit'', ''

Les Éolides ''Les Éolides'', List of compositions by César Franck, (Op. 26), FWV 43, CFF 127,The opus number wasn't used by composer when he published the piece. is a symphonic poem by French composer César Franck written in 1876 and premiered the next year ...

'', ''Psyché'', Basel Symphony Orchestra. Erato ECD 88167. *

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer. His most celebrated piece is the ''Symphonie espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, which remains a popular work in the standard reper ...

: ''Le Roi d'Ys'', with Eduardo Villa, Philippe Bohee, Delores Ziegler, Jean-Philippe Courtis,

Michel Piquemal Michel Piquemal (born 15 April 1947) is a French choir conductor and conductor. He is also an operatic singer ( baritone). Biography Born in Paris, originally from Ariège, his parents were not musicians at all. Michel Piquemal wanted to pl ...

, Barbara Hendricks, and Marcel Vanaud; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Erato/Warner B00000E8RK. *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

: Symphony No. 4, with Edith Wiens,

. Erato/Warner B00000E8U7. *Francis Poulenc's ''

La Voix humaine ' (English: ''The Human Voice'') is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play The Human Voice, of the same name by Jean Cocteau, who, along with French soprano Denis ...

''; ''La Dame de Monte-Carlo''. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande with soprano

Felicity Lott Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...

. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901759 *Sergei Prokofiev: ''Romeo and Juliet'' (3 suites), Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Erato/Warner B000005E8O. *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

: Piano Concertos, with Anne Queffelec; Orchestre de l'opera De Monte Carlo. Erato/Warner Classics B000054285. *Maurice Ravel's ''

L'enfant et les sortilèges ''L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties'' (''The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts'') is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first be ...

'', Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Erato/Warner Classics B00004VLSY. *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

: The Four Symphonies.

. Erato/Warner B000009ILZ. *Robert Schumann's '' Das Paradies und die Peri'', with Christoph Pregardien,

Robert Gambill Robert Gambill (born March 31, 1955 in Indianapolis) is an opera singer (Heldentenor). Biography Gambill studied mathematics at Purdue University (1973-1976) before becoming an exchange student at Hamburg University in Germany, where he ad ...

, Edith Wiens, Anne Gjevang, Sylvia Herman, & Hans-Peter Scheidegger; Romand Chamber Choir, Pro Arte Chorus of Lausanne; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Erato 2292-45456-2. *Johann Strauss, Jr.'s

Der Zigeunerbaron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jok ...

. Performed by Rudolf Wasserlof, Zoran Todorovic, Martin Homrich, Jeannette Fischer, Béla Perencz, Hanna Schaer, Ewa Wolak, Paul Kong, Luc Héry, Natalia Ushakova and the French National Radio Orchestra and Chorus. Naive 5002. *

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

: ''Parsifal'',

Goldberg Goldberg or Goldberger may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Goldberg Ensemble, a British string ensemble * ''Goldberg Variations'', a set of 30 keyboard variations by Johann Sebastian Bach * ''The Goldbergs (broadcast series)'', American radio ...

, Minton et al., Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Prague Philharmonic Chorus. Erato 2292-45662-2 *Paul Dukas' '' Ariane et Barbe-Bleue'', Ciesinski, Paunova, Bacquier, Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Erato - LP 1983, CD 1991

References

*
"Seattle and the New Ring" (Interview with Armin Jordan, Francois Rochaix, and Robert Israel)
by Bruce Duffie, Wagner News, Summer, 1986 * 1932 births 2006 deaths Swiss conductors (music) Male conductors (music) People from Lucerne 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Erato Records artists {{Switzerland-conductor-stub

Selected discography

See also

References