Gerard Schwarz portrait painting by Michele Rushworth

Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orchestral Activities and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra at the Frost School of Music at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

Early life

Schwarz was born in

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

, to

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents. His parents were both physicians and took him to concerts and opera performances. Schwarz began his trumpet career at age 8. By 12 years of age, he dedicated his life to becoming a musician. He graduated from New York City's High School of Performing Arts and Juilliard School of Music and began his musical career as a trumpeter, performing until 1973 as principal of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

under Pierre Boulez. He began conducting in 1966. Schwarz champions American composers, past and present. He has made more than 100 recordings with the Seattle Symphony including many American works. In particular, he won acclaim for his recordings of symphonies and orchestral works by

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American class ...

William Schuman William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator. Life Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...

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, and David Diamond. Schwarz built the strength of the Seattle Symphony. In 1983 it had 5,000 subscribers; as of 2008 it had 35,000. He spearheaded the effort to build Benaroya Hall for the symphony. However, his leadership style of the Seattle Symphony was controversial among some musicians. A portrait painting of Schwarz by artist Michele Rushworth was unveiled and installed at Benaroya Hall in 2011.

Career

In 1971 he won the

Young Concert Artists International Auditions Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...

. He frequently held multiple positions simultaneously. He was music director of the

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, a ...

from 1978 to 1986. He served as music director of New York's

Mostly Mozart Festival The Mostly Mozart Festival is an American classical music festival based in New York City. Venues The festival presents concerts with its resident ensemble, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, principally at David Geffen Hall of the Lincoln C ...

from 1982 to 2001. He was the music director of the

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchestr ...

from 1985 to 2011. From 2001 to 2006, Schwarz was music director of the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

(RLPO). He served as music director of the

New York Chamber Symphony The New York Chamber Symphony (NYCS) was an American chamber orchestra based in New York City. It was active from 1977 to 2002. It was founded in 1977 by its founding music director Gerard Schwarz, and Omus Hirshbein. Its original name was the Y Ch ...

and music advisor to Tokyo's Orchard Hall in conjunction with the

Tokyo Philharmonic The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2005, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently a ...

. In 2007, Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as its principal conductor since 2005. He expanded the festival's audience to the largest in its history, enhanced education and programming to include a composer in residence and three new concert series and increased collaboration with An Appalachian Summer Festival, where he is artistic partner for symphonic music programming.

Recordings

Among the orchestras that Schwarz has led on his other recordings are the Czech Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2005, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently ...

, the

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has also ...

, and the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France sinc ...

. In 2003 he recorded two concertos by Philip Glass: the Cello Concerto (with

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

) and the Concerto for Two Timpanists (with

Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015. Early life Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The in ...

and Jonathan Haas with the RLPO). He recorded all of

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 ...

's symphonies and Richard Strauss's

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

s with the RLPO. As a trumpet soloist, Schwarz has recorded the concertos of

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

and Johann Nepomuk Hummel for Delos. In 2011, the block around Benaroya Hall was named "Gerard Schwarz Place."

Discography

* ''Judith Blegen and Frederica von Stade: Songs, Arias and Duets'', with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Columbia, 1975

Awards

Ditson Conductor's Award The Ditson Conductor's Award, established in 1945, is the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to the performance of American music. The US$5,000 purse is endowed by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University, increased in ...

for his commitment to the performance of American music. (1989) * Musical America's Conductor of the Year (1994) He was the first American to win that award * 14 Grammy nominations * 4 Emmy awards (of 5 nominations) for his performance of Mozart's ''Requiem'' on ''Live from Lincoln Center'' and performances with the Seattle Symphony on PBS. * Seattle City of Music Outstanding Achievement Award (2010).

Personal life

Gerard Schwarz married Jody (née Greitzer) in June 1984. He has four children.

References

External links

Gerard Schwarz - Home

Most Up To Date Biography retrieved from the Seattle Symphony Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Gerard 1947 births American male conductors (music) American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Juilliard School alumni Jewish American classical musicians Living people People from Weehawken, New Jersey 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) Classical musicians from New Jersey 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews