The German opera conductor Lothar Koenigs has not worked since last March.
But he’s not idle.
He has a job in Frankfurt as a driver for meals on wheels and he goes home every day ‘always totally satisfied and happy’.
Read the full interview here.
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His Mastersingers in Cardiff with Bryan Terkel and WNO was wonderful. A great,underestimated conductor.
I agree. He conducted a fine concert performance of Tristan und Isolde at the EIF some years ago.
Don Pasquale: Do you mean Bryn Terfel?
What a wonderful selfless service he is providing! Bravo, maestro for your humanitarian effort during these very challenging times. He’s a great conductor and a great Mensch.
Bravo, Maestro Koenigs!
I have so much respect for Lothar K as a musician, and I’m not at all surprised to find out he’s a great human being. My experience with him is that he is a very sincere and dedicated musician, and his “Lulu” at the Met is unsurpassed in my experience, having played many runs of this opera since 1974, and having listened to most of the extant recordings AND videos (I have about 10 DVDs of this work)! Bravo, LK!!
R U OK? A Lulu obsession could prove fatal.
Now here is someone proving his humanity. Perhaps that is more fulfilling than making obscene amounts of money as a conductor.
I had the privilege of being a conducting fellow at Tanglewood the same summer as Lothar, and from the beginning — I think it was the amazing performance he gave of “The Miraculous Mandarin” — I was one of his fans. He’s a brilliant conductor and a wonderful human being, and his selflessness here does not surprise me in the least. Watching him prepare the Bartok back then, it was the combination of his technical brilliance and his absolute sincerity that won everyone over.
bravo !
I know how much he wanted to use his free time to serve his local community, but it is not quite true that he has not worked since last March. He conducted Die Tote Stadt for La Monnaie in October, and is currently rehearsing Ariane et Barbe-Bleu in Lyon.
Thanks, Jonathan. He mentions Brussels but says it was closed before opening.
He also conducted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2019; he has been there many times.
Memories of Laura Aikin – https://slippedisc.com/2020/06/opera-star-i-wont-claim-benefits-id-rather-stack-shelves/
And what are meals on wheels? Is that a hotdog that farts causing the jet propulsion to necessary for little rotating devices such as stereotyping that keeps media programming going!? Corporate even….
Or is it just that overweight man called Santa that capitalizes on collapsing roofs, and termite damage each year, from more stereotyping and jet propulsion of another sort, only needing wheels for landing!?
Finally, a conductor goes up in my estimation. He’s always had an interesting approach to repertoire too, never afraid to take on a path less travelled, often with interesting results.
In Lisbon, I had the privilege to play Tosca with Maestro Koenig.
A wonderful musician and human being.
Good man. We have commercial airline pilots working as baristas and packing supermarket shelves. Normally these people earn the big bucks in the driving seat of A-380s. What a come-down (cough)!!
Back in 2012 Koenigs replaced an indisposed Runnicles to conduct Bruckner 8 with the Sydney SO. A staggering performance; I was quite blown away. It was clear then that he had a great future. I hope things improve for him.
You should all have heard Tchaikovsky with him. And how he was firing people because they were disagree with him, how he shouted every time on something was wrong, when nothing was wrong..
What i fine conductor and human being…