Zoltán Peskó (15 February 1937 – 31 March 2020) was a Hungarian conductor and composer who held leading positions at German, Italian and Portuguese opera houses and orchestras, including the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early 1 ...

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

, and

Teatro Nacional de São Carlos The ''Teatro Nacional de São Carlos'' () (''National Theatre of Saint Charles'') is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on June 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 Li ...

. He was a regular conductor at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, where he promoted contemporary opera.

Early life and education

Peskó was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, on 15 February 1937. He graduated from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in 1962. He went on to study at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

in Rome, then learned composition under

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

in the 1960s. He also studied conducting under

Franco Ferrara Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti. Life and ...

, and studied composition under

Goffredo Petrassi Goffredo Petrassi (16 July 1904 – 3 March 2003) was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.Petrassi, Goffredo. (2008). ...

Career

He conducted at the

from 1966 to 1973, was chief conductor of the

until 1976 and musical director of

in Venice until 1977. He was a regular conductor of the RAI Symphony Orchestra in Milan from 1978 to 1992. Peskó first conducted at

in Milan in 1970: Dallapiccola's ''

Ulisse ''Ulisse'' is an opera in a prologue and two acts composed by Luigi Dallapiccola to his own libretto based on the legend of Ulysses. It premiered at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (in German translation by Karl-Heinrich Kreith as ''Odysseus'') on 29 ...

'' and Prokofiev's '' L'angelo di fuoco'', directed by

Antonello Madau-Diaz Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina ( 1430February 1479), was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Early Italian Renaissance. ...

. He conducted the first performance in Milan of Mozart's ''

La finta giardiniera ' ("The Pretend Garden-Girl"), K. 196, is an Italian-language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote it in Munich in January 1775 when he was 18 years old and it received its first performance on 13 January at the in Munich. There is deb ...

'' at Piccola Scala, directed by Filippo Crivelli. There he promoted original programming including contemporary stage works such as operas composers of the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School (german: Zweite Wiener Schule, Neue Wiener Schule) was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna. ...

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

with

Milva Maria Ilva Biolcati, (; 17 July 1939 – 23 April 2021), known as Milva (), was an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She was also known as ''La Rossa'' (Italian for "The Redhead"), due to the characteristic co ...

singing, and music by

Aldo Clementi Aldo Clementi (25 May 1925 – 3 March 2011) was an Italian classical composer. Life Aldo Clementi was born in Catania, Italy. He studied the piano, graduating in 1946 at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. His studies in composition began i ...

Azio Corghi Azio Corghi (9 March 1937 – 17 November 2022) was an Italian composer, academic teacher and musicologist. He composed mostly operas and chamber music. His operas are often based on literature, especially in collaboration with José Saramago a ...

and

Franco Donatoni Franco Donatoni (9 June 1927 – 17 August 2000) was an Italian composer. Biography Born in Verona, Donatoni started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local music academy. Later, he studied at the Milan Conservatory ...

, among others. In 1974, he conducted the Italian premiere of Schoenberg's ''Kol Nidre''. A 1972 conversation of Peskó and

about "Musical Aspects in Today's Musical Theatre" was published in 1978 in the journal ''Tempo''. In 1978, he led Bartók's ''

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' ( hu, A kékszakállú herceg vára, link=no, or ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act expressionism, expressionist opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The libretto was written by Béla Balázs, a poet ...

'', staged by

Giorgio Pressburger Giorgio Pressburger (April 21, 1937 – October 5, 2017) was an Italian writer of novels and short stories. Born in Budapest, and saved by Giorgio Perlasca during the second world war, Pressburger settled in Italy in 1956, where he worked as a f ...

, with

Éva Marton Éva Marton (born 18 June 1943) is a Hungarian dramatic soprano, particularly known for her operatic portrayals of Puccini's ''Turandot'' and ''Tosca'', and Wagnerian roles. Vocal training and early years Marton was born in Budapest, where sh ...

and

Kolos Kováts Kolos may refer to: ;People *Kolos (name), a first or last name ;Sports *Kolos (sports society), a Ukrainian sports society *Kolos Stadium (Borispil), a multifunctional stadium in Boryspil, Ukraine *FC Kolos Bykovo, a soccer team based in Bykovo, ...

, coupled with

Camillo Togni Camillo Togni (18 October 1922 – 28 November 1993) was an Italian composer, teacher, and pianist. Coming from a family of independent means, he was able to pursue his art as he saw fit, regardless of changing fashions or economic pressure. ...

's ''Blaubart'', staged by Maria Francesca Siciliani. In 1979, Peskó conducted Beethoven's ''

Christus am Ölberge ''Christus am Ölberge'' (in English, ''Christ on the Mount of Olives''), Op. 85, is an oratorio by Ludwig van Beethoven portraying the emotional turmoil of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane prior to his crucifixion. It was begun in the fall of ...

'' with the RAI Orchestra. He conducted three works by Stravinsky in 1982, the centenary of his birth: '' The Flood'', '' Renard'' and ''

Mavra ''Mavra'' is a one-act comic opera composed by Igor Stravinsky, and one of the earliest works of Stravinsky's neo-classical period. The libretto, by Boris Kochno, is based on Alexander Pushkin's ''The Little House in Kolomna''. Mavra is about 25 ...

'', directed by

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

. He also conducted one Verdi opera at La Scala, ''

Luisa Miller ''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi's initial idea for ...

'' in 1989, with

Katia Ricciarelli Catiuscia Maria Stella Ricciarelli (born 16 January 1946), known as Katia Ricciarelli (), is an Italian soprano and actress. Biography Born in Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music. ...

in the title role. Peskó was the

Generalmusikdirektor A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of the

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, th ...

, based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg, from 1996 to 1999. His major programmes there included Verdi's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' and ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

'', Wagner's ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

'', and 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 ...

''. There, he also conducted contemporary music, such as the German première of Giorgio Battistelli's ''Prova d’Orchestra'' (''Orchesterprobe''). Peskó then served as chief conductor of the , the orchestra of the

in Lisbon, from 2001 to 2004. Among the highlights at the theatre was a performance of Tchaikovsky's rarely performed opera '' The Enchantress'' in a collaboration with the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

, staged by

David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has directed over ...

. A review of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that Peskó's "conducting responded keenly to the flow of the drama, and the Sao Carlos orchestra rose to the challenge of the unfamiliar score". His tenure with the orchestra ended acrimoniously, with Peskó alleging that they had not paid him, while the orchestra claimed he had breached his contract by not spending sufficient time each year in Portugal. The labour court found in Peskó's favour, ordering the orchestra to pay him, but this decision was later overturned and the ruling against Peskó in favour of the orchestra was confirmed at the

Supreme Court of Justice A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 2013. He was chief conductor of the Pannon Philharmonic in

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

from 2009 to 2011. He made many recordings and lectured at the Musikhochschule Berlin. In 2012, he suffered a stroke that left him unable to continue conducting. Peskó died in Budapest on 31 March 2020 at the age of 83.Elhunyt Peskó Zoltán világhírű magyar karmester

Early life and education

Career

References

External links