Michael Halász (born 21 May 1938 in Cluj-Napoca) is a German-Hungarian classical conductor. Halász began his musical career as principal bassoonist with the

Philharmonia Hungarica The Philharmonia Hungarica was a symphony orchestra, based in Marl, Germany, which existed from 1956 to 2001. It was first established in Baden bei Wien near Vienna by Hungarian musicians who had fled their homeland after it was invaded by Sovi ...

in Vienna. After eight years in that position, he studied conducting at the Folkwang Schule in Essen, Germany. His first engagement as conductor was at the Munich

Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (''State Theatre at Gärtnerplatz''), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) ...

, from 1972 to 1975, where he conducted operetta productions.Halász's profile
Naxos Records In 1975, Halász moved to Frankfurt and worked as principal Kapellmeister under

Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conductor. Biography Youth and World War II Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle ...

. During this time, he conducted a number of major

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s. In 1977, when Dohnányi moved to Hamburg, Halász went with him, continuing his work as principal Kapellmeister at the Hamburg State Opera. In 1978, Halász was appointed General Musical Director of the , and in 1991 he was named Resident Conductor at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

. His contract there ended in 2011."Michael Halász – 'Provinz ist überhaupt kein Schimpfwort'"
by Monika Willer, ''Westfalenpost'', 29 March 2013 Since 2011 he conducted every year at least one CD in Pardubice with the for

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

. Halász has made dozens of recordings for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels, ranging from the complete symphonies of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

and

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's Symphonic poems to works by Mozart,

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...

, Dvorak,

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 ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and many others. He has also recorded several of Mozart's operas, notably '' Don Giovanni'', ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'', and '' The Marriage of Figaro''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halasz, Michael Hungarian conductors (music) Hungarian male musicians Male conductors (music) Living people 1938 births Musicians from Cluj-Napoca 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians Folkwang University of the Arts alumni