János Fürst (8 August 1935 – 3 January 2007) was a
Hungarian-born
conductor and violinist.
Biography
Fürst was born in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
to a Jewish-Hungarian family. He originally studied the
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
at the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...
in his native
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, he continued studies at the conservatory in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. He attended the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...
and there won a ''Premier Prix''. He took a job in 1958 with the
Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra, and developed his career as an orchestra leader.
In 1963, Fürst founded the
Irish Chamber Orchestra, and developed his conducting career from that point. On the formation of the
Ulster Orchestra
The Ulster Orchestra is a full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. Based in Belfast, the orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United Kingdom ...
in 1966, Fürst became its concertmaster, and later its assistant conductor in 1971. He held positions as Chief Conductor and Music Director with orchestras in
Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
(1974–77),
Aalborg
Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...
(1980–83),
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Winterthur
Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...
(1990–94) and was Chief Guest Conductor of the
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Fürst was music director of the
Opéra de Marseille from 1981 to 1990.
He was also a frequent guest at English National Opera, Scottish Opera and the Royal Stockholm Opera. In 1978 he conducted the premiere of ''Salome'' by Sir
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...
and subsequently recorded it.
He also made numerous recordings for
Vox Records with the
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a renowned German orchestra top-class orchestra that has been residing in Bamberg since its foundation in 1946 and travels the world as a touring orchestra. ...
, including some rarely heard orchestral music of
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
released in the mid-1970s; some of the recordings have been reissued on CD.
Fürst was known as a fine teacher. A number of his students at the
Paris Conservatoire
The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...
won prestigious conducting competitions. He worked with youth orchestras including the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Late in life he was invited to become head of orchestral conducting at
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, but he did not live enough to take up the post.
Death
Fürst died of cancer in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 2007.
He was married three times. His first wife, Antoinette (now Antoinette Kirshbaum), his third wife and two sons survived him.
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...
. They commenced in 1987.
!
, -
,
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
, ''Powerhouse Three Poems of Byron – Capriccio Nocturnes Unchained Melody'' (with
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra &
David Porcelijn)
,
Best Classical Album
,
,
[ARIA Award previous winners. ]
, -
References
External links
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furst, Janos
1935 births
2007 deaths
Academics of the Royal College of Music
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris
Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni
Deaths from cancer in France
20th-century conductors (music)
Concertmasters
Hungarian classical violinists
Male classical violinists
Hungarian male conductors (music)
Hungarian expatriates in France
Hungarian Jews
Jewish classical musicians
Musicians from Budapest
RTÉ Performing Groups
20th-century classical violinists
20th-century Hungarian male musicians