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Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conductor.


Biography


Youth and World War II

Dohnányi was born in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Germany to
Hans von Dohnanyi Hans von Dohnanyi (; originally ''Johann von Dohnányi'' ; 1 January 1902 – 8 or 9 April 1945) was a Germans, German jurist. He used his position in the Abwehr to help Jews escape Germany, worked with German resistance to Nazism, German r ...
, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side, and also his godfather, was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
pastor and theologian/ethicist. His grandfather was the pianist and composer
Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish language, Finnish and Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator *Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hunga ...
, also known as Ernst von Dohnányi. His father, uncle and other family members participated in the German Resistance movement against
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
, and were arrested and detained in several
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
before being executed in 1945, when Christoph was 15 years old. Dohnányi's older brother is Klaus von Dohnanyi, a German politician and former
mayor of Hamburg The government of Hamburg is divided into Executive (government), executive, Legislature, legislative and judiciary, judicial branches. Hamburg is a city-state and municipality, and thus its governance deals with several details of both state and ...
.


Education and early engagements

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Dohnányi studied law in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, but in 1948 he transferred to the ''
Hochschule für Musik und Theater München The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts music school, conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, locate ...
'' to study composition, piano and conducting. At the opera in Munich, he was a stage extra, coached singers, and was a house pianist. He received the Richard Strauss Prize from the city of Munich, and then went to
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
to study with his grandfather. His first position as assistant was at the Oper Frankfurt, appointed by Georg Solti, where he also served as a ballet and opera coach. He was general musical director of the Lübeck Opera from 1957 to 1963, then Germany's youngest GMD. He also served as chief conductor of the Staatsorchester Kassel. He also served as chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne. In 1968, he succeeded Lovro von Matačić who had succeeded Georg Solti as general music director and Dohnányi later became also musical director at the Oper Frankfurt and served in both capacities until 1977. He took the positions of intendant and chief conductor with the Hamburg State Opera in 1977, and relinquished those posts in 1984. As director of the Oper Frankfurt and with his team including Gerard Mortier (Director of Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels,
Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...
, Opéra de Paris), Peter Mario Katona (Director of Casting at ROH Covent Garden) and Klaus Schultz, Dramaturg in Munich (Bayerische Staatsoper) and Berlin (Philharmonic Orchestra), then General Manager of the Stadttheater Aachen, Nationaltheater Mannheim, and Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich, the balance in programming of traditional opera performance and innovative Musiktheater, promoting the idea of Regietheater, established the Oper Frankfurt as a leading house at that time. He continued this concept in Hamburg.


Cleveland years

Christoph von Dohnányi made his conducting debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in December 1981 and was named “Music Director Designate” the following year. However, he would not begin his tenure as music director until 1984. During the intervening two years, the Orchestra invited a number of guest conductors to lead the ensemble, including former music director Erich Leinsdorf for six weeks of subscription concerts. Leinsdorf would remark that he was the "bridge between the regimes." Before taking the podium as the Orchestra’s sixth music director, Dohnányi made guest appearances with other American orchestras, including those in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, and New York, as well as leading The Cleveland Orchestra in its annual gala concert and recordings at Severance Hall. As Dohnányi began his first season as music director, he brought with him contacts that would push the Orchestra forward with a variety of recording projects. Near the end of the 1984–85 season, Dohnányi announced an ambitious idea: The Cleveland Orchestra would use its summer home, Blossom Music Center, to perform a fully-staged opera: Mozart's '' The Magic Flute''. The production, which was attended by 15,000 people, was labeled "the Ohio musical event of the summer" by ''The Columbus Dispatch''. Dohnányi also oversaw the hiring of Indonesian-born conductor Jahja Ling, who would lead the newly-established Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, which had its first concert in February 1987. In addition to making recording a hallmark of his tenure as music director through the Orchestra's ongoing association with several labels ( Teldec, Decca/London, and Telarc), Dohnányi focused much of his attention on international touring. In 1986, the Orchestra embarked on its sixth tour of Europe and its first international tour under Dohnányi, performing twenty-one concerts in seventeen cities across Western Europe. Not only would the Orchestra continue with international touring to Europe or East Asia nearly every season, it would also embark on tours of European festivals, including the
Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...
, where the Orchestra’s long-standing relationship would begin after a performance in 1990. Because of the departure or retirement of several musicians between 1988 and 1990, Dohnányi was tasked with hiring new Orchestra members, including a replacement for Robert Page, who had been the longtime director of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. Furthermore,
Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...
, the former music director of the St. Louis Symphony, was appointed Blossom Festival Director beginning in the summer of 1991. To celebrate The Cleveland Orchestra’s 75th anniversary, Dohnányi led performances of Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle at Severance Hall during the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons. Although the ensemble’s intention was to become the first symphony orchestra in the United States to record the four-opera, fifteen-hour musical monument, financial restrictions limited the Orchestra to recording only the first two operas — ''
Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nib ...
'' and '' Die Walküre''. In 1992, Dohnányi signed a new contract that extended his tenure as music director through the 1999–2000 season. A few years later, the Orchestra began a fundraising campaign for the renovation of Severance Hall, which included the replacement of the “Szell Shell,” a return of the E.M. Skinner organ to the stage, and an expansion of internal facilities to enhance the experience of concertgoers. Dohnányi signed his final contract as music director with the Orchestra in 1997, extending his tenure until 2002. As international touring continued, the Orchestra visited the People’s Republic of China for the first time in 1998. During the spring of 1999, the Orchestra moved to Cleveland’s Playhouse Square for a residency at the Allen Theatre until the renovation of Severance Hall was completed. On January 8, 2000, Dohnányi led a gala concert to celebrate the re-opening of Severance Hall, which was broadcast live on local television by Cleveland’s WVIZ. Following his contract's expiration, Dohnányi was named Music Director Laureate of The Cleveland Orchestra.


After Cleveland

In 1994, Dohnányi became the principal guest conductor of London's
Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...
, and in 1997 their Principal Conductor. In April 2007, Dohnányi was one of eight conductors of British orchestras to endorse the 10-year classical music outreach manifesto, "Building on Excellence: Orchestras for the 21st Century", to increase the presence of classical music in the UK, including giving free entry to all British schoolchildren to a classical music concert. In 2008, he stepped down from the Philharmonia principal conductorship and now holds the title with the orchestra of "Honorary Conductor for Life". After retiring as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, Dohnányi has been a guest conductor with the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Chicago Symphony and
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
, as well as the Cleveland Orchestra. He has performed frequently at the Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A regular collaboration has developed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra since the 1990s. In 2004, Dohnányi returned to Hamburg, Germany where he maintained a residence for many years, to become chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra. He concluded his NDR tenure after the 2009–2010 season. He has been a frequent guest conductor in concert with the Vienna Philharmonic and at the Vienna State Opera. With the Philharmonia Orchestra, Dohnányi performed throughout Europe at such venues as the Musikverein in Vienna, the
Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...
, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the Lucerne Festival, and Paris's Théâtre des Champs Elysées. For several seasons, Dohnányi and the Philharmonia Orchestra were in residence at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, performing new productions of
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
's operas ''Arabella'', ''Die Frau ohne Schatten'' and ''Die schweigsame Frau'',
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
's ''Moses und Aron'',
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
's ''Oedipus Rex'' and Engelbert Humperdinck's ''Hänsel und Gretel''. At the Opernhaus Zürich, Dohnányi led new productions of ''Moses and Aron'', ''Oedipus Rex'' (with
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
's ''Bluebeard's Castle''), Strauss's ''Die Schweigsame Frau'', ''Ariadne auf Naxos'', ''Salome'', ''Elektra'', and ''Die Frau ohne Schatten'',
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 ''Idomeneo'',
Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
's ''Un Ballo in Maschera'', and
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's ''The Flying Dutchman''.


Assistants to Christoph von Dohnányi

Michael Stern, music director and lead conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, was assistant conductor to Dohnányi from 1986 to 1991 at the Cleveland Orchestra. Alan Gilbert, former music director of the New York Philharmonic, was assistant conductor to Dohnányi from 1995 to 1997 at the Cleveland Orchestra. Alejo Pérez was assistant conductor at the NDR Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2007 and Jens Georg Bachmann, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
Symphony Orchestra was in the same position at the NDR Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2009.


Family

Dohnányi was married to the German actress Renate Zillessen; they had two children, Katja and Justus. His second wife was the German soprano Anja Silja, with whom he had three children: Julia, Benedikt and Olga. Since 2004 Dohnányi has been married to Barbara Koller.


References


Sources

* * Klaus Schultz (ed.), ''Offen sein zu - hören. Der Dirigent Christoph von Dohnányi''. Hamburg: Murmann 2010, 281 p.  he book contains a discography.


External links

* http://christophvondohnanyi.com *
Christoph von Dohnányi biography
at the Philharmonia
Christoph von Dohnányi biography
at the Cleveland Orchestra
Colbert Artists Management Inc.


February 9, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dohnanyi, Christoph Von 1929 births Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Christoph von Dohnanyi German male conductors (music) German people of Hungarian descent University of Music and Theatre Munich alumni Living people Musicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Musicians from Berlin People from Steglitz-Zehlendorf Principal conductors of the Philharmonia Orchestra Music directors of the Cleveland Orchestra Music directors of the Orchestre de Paris Chief conductors of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Chief conductors of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne