Milan Turković (born 14 September 1939) is an Austrian classical

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

ist and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. He originates from an Austro-Croatian family, grew up in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and became internationally known as one of the few bassoon soloists. Over the past two decades, he has become a successful conductor, making appearances all over the world.

Career

Turković began his career as an orchestral musician, holding the post of principal bassoon in the

Vienna Symphony The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Theater an der Wien. History ...

. Turković was a member of

Concentus Musicus Wien Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement. History Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the CMW in 19 ...

(1967–2012), the

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City and around the world. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber m ...

(1992–2012), and was a founding member of Ensemble Wien-Berlin (1983–2009). Turković is best known as a bassoon soloist. He has a substantial discography and has performed renowned orchestras across the world. He has made numerous premiere performances, including works by

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (pronunciation Fran-say or Fran-seks) was born on 23 May 1912, in Le Mans and died in 25 September 1997, in Paris). Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator known for his prolific outp ...

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...

, Iván Erőd, Rainer Bischof, Thomas Daniel Schlee, Friedrich Cerha,

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

and

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Early life Brett Dean was born, raised, and educated in Brisbane. He attended Brisbane State High School. He started learning violin at age 8, and later stu ...

. After a tour with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in 1998, Marsalis dedicated the quintet ''Meeelaan'' for bassoon and string quartet to Turković, which was subsequently performed by Turković all over the world. Since the beginning of the 21st century, Turković has increasingly focused his career on conducting, having conducted orchestras across Europe as well as Japan, Taiwan and the US. He regularly acts as a principal conductor at the Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy and Festival. Turković is a recipient of the

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

and he also received the German

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize ...

Award in 2010.

Recordings

Turković's discography currently consists of 9 CDs as a conductor, 20 CDs with solo repertoire, 24

CDs CDS, CDs, Cds, etc. may refer to: Finance * Canadian Depository for Securities, Canadian post-trade financial services company * Certificate of deposit (CDs) * Counterfeit Deterrence System, developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence ...

with chamber music and over 200 CDs with

. He has recorded

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's bassoon concerto four times; his third recording was played on a period instrument, with

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical ...

conducting. Other releases include the concerti by Weber (with Sir Neville Marriner), the quintet for bassoon and strings ''Meeelaan'' by

and a double CD “Bassoon Extravaganza”. On his most recent CDs he conducted three symphonies by

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and two CDs with the German ensemble Selmer Saxharmonic (Echo Klassik Award, 2010).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turkovic, Milan 1939 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna Austrian classical bassoonists Austrian performers of early music Austrian people of Croatian descent Croatian barons Croatian emigrants to Austria Austrian male conductors (music) Musicians from Zagreb Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Turković family 21st-century Austrian conductors (music) 21st-century Austrian male musicians Players of the Vienna Symphony