These are the world’s youngest chief conductors
NewsKlaus Mäkelä’s appointment today at the Royal Concertgebouworkest falls within a select historic category of under-30 chiefs:
Mäkelä is 26 and will be 31 before he takes full charge in 2027.
Previous youngest chiefs are:
Willem Mengelberg, Concertgebouworkest – 24
Patrick Hahn, GMD Wuppertal – 24
Rafael Kubelik, Brno Opera and Czech Philharmonic – 25
Simon Rattle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – 25
Mikko Franck, Belgian National Orchestra – 23; Finnish National Opera – 26
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Swedish Radio – 26
Herbert von Karajan, GMD Aaachen – 26
Gustav Mahler, Royal Hungarian Opera – 27
Lionel Bringuier, Zurich Tonhalle – 27
James Levine Metropolitan Opera – 27
Gustavo Dudamel, LA Philharmonic – 28
Vladimir Jurowski, Glyndebourne Festival Opera – 28
Robin Ticciati, Glyndebourne Festival Opera – 28
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – 29
Lahav Shani, Rotterdam Philharmonic – 29
Thomas Guggeis, GMD Frankfurt Oper – 29
Bernard Haitink, Concertgebouworkest – 30
pictured: Mäkelä, 2018
Willem Mengelberg was 24 years old when he became chief conductor of the Concertgebouworkest.
Karajan 22 Ulm
Wasn’t Nelson just about under 30 when he took over the CBSO?
Yes, and (although it hardly matters) he had held two other posts before that.
There’s also Dudamel in Goteborg he was 26. Important to don’t forget this important orchestra and one of my favorites.
Mahler shouldn’t be in this list of wannabees. He was on a totally different level of musicianship.
Rob: so were Mengelberg and Karajan.
Really? That’s fascinating to know! When did you hear him conduct? There can’t be many people alive who still did – please share your memories!
Can´t tell.Never heard him.His piano playing on those admittedly unreliable rolls was pretty lousy,however……
Zubin Mehta, LA Phil – 26
And Montreal at 24!
Right. I read his autobiography he talks just a little bit of Montreal. But things started for Zubin realy in LA. And what marvelous story….
He was there about six years (conducted at the opening of Salle Wilfried-Pelletier), and has gone back on occasion in recent years, obviously talking about his great memories of that time.
He was succeed at the OSM by Franz-Paul Decker, which might have been a better deal for the OSM.
Kirill Petrenko GMD Meiningen 27
Neeme Järvi, ERSO – 26
Ryan Bancroft, BBC NOW?
31 at the time of taking it up, he is great though!
The above list is a little random. There is nothing uncommon about conductors receiving their first major appointment under 30. More interesting is to look at early appointments that led to supreme achievements. In this respect, Victor de Sabata (Monte Carlo Opera/26) and Willem Mengelberg (Concertgebouw/24) truly stand out.
At Monte Carlo Victor de Sabata performed “a wide variety of late-19th century and contemporary works. In 1925, he conducted the world premiere of L’enfant et les sortilèges by Ravel. Ravel said that de Sabata was a conductor “the like of which I have never before encountered” and wrote him a note the next day saying that “You have given me one of the most complete joys of my career”. Ravel also claimed that, within twelve hours of receiving the score to L’enfant, the conductor had memorized it.” (wikipedia)
The Concertgebouw was only 10 years old when then 24-year-old Mengelberg embarked on a 50-year tenure. Mengelberg is widely credited for making the Concertgebouw Orchestra second to none.
Other examples?
Interisting your story about de Sabata and Ravel. I know that Ravel didn’t like at all the way Toscanini played his music.
Robert Kajanus, Sibelius’ close associate, was just 25 years old when he founded the Helsinki PO in 1882.
(He conducted the orchestra for another 50 years, until 1932)
The great Gallen-Kallela has painted a portrait of him like for Sibelius and Mahler. I don’t know where we can see it.
If I am not 100% mistaken, Gallen-Kallela painted him at least three times, the most famous being the ”Symposium” which is located at the Finnish National Gallery in Ateneum, Helsinki and which caused a great scandal back in the 1890s….
One portrait seems to be owned by the Gösta Serlachius art museum in Mänttä.
His large 70th anniversary portrait photo, on the other hand, is located in my living room …. in frames.
There are so many mysteries about where are so many Gallen-Kallela (i’am a fan) paintings. I know that there are two versions of ”Symposium” I have seen one in Ateneum. I’am not sure but I think that the Gösta Serlachius has also the Mahler portrait like my favorit painting Spring 1903.
Valentin Egel – 26 GMD HNK I PL Zajc Rijeka
Leopold Stokowski was 27 when hired as conductor in Cincinnati, three years before moving on to Philadelphia.
Michael Tilson Thomas was 27 when he became MD of the Buffalo Philharmonic. Probably the only American in this whole list.
James Levine,29 years music director of the MET.Leopold Stokowski.27 years ,music director,Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra,30 years,Philadelphia Orchestra.And,well,let´s not forget Sir Henry Wood,starting the Proms at 26!
Zubin Mehta: 25 in Montréal in 1961, 26 in Los Angeles in 1962.
Yannick Nezet-Seguin was 25 when he got l’Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal in 2000, admittedly not a major orchestra back then.
In his autobiography Zubin don’t of Montreal in the 60’s as a great place for classical.
not major back then and not major now
Leopold Stokowski 27 (Cincinnati) 30 Philadelphia………..
Daniele Gatti, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – 30
Ozawa – 29 (Ravinia Festival) and 30 (Toronto)
In 2012, Lionel Bringuier was 26 when Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra named him their next chief conductor and artistic director starting in 2014 at the age of 28.
This young man has to be a talent. I can’t wait for his Mahler 6 later this year. Don’t expect von Karajan but an arcing reading will do nicely.
Missing from this list:
Alexander Prior – appointed as Chief Principal Conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at age 23 and began the position at 24. He was also recently appointed as the new General Music Director of Theater Erfurt and the Music Director of the Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra.
A long time ago, banks initiatwd the practice of charging depisitors, more and more, for merely having their money in the bank.
It has become “non-cost-effective”, a drain, to do so— and this does not take into consideration keeping up with inflation!
Most threateningly, the trend seems to be going in the direction of, COERCING, persons into monetary instruments which are not to their liking. With these, persons may not be making enough predictable increases to keep up, not only with general inflation itself, but, much, destructively, worse, to keep up with the increasing cost of high-end medical care, such as Gene Therapy for Cancer— without dreading Insurance Companies from imposing life-terminating “Limits” on coverage for such treatments, that, DO SAVE LIVES!!!!
Que dire de Yannick Nezet-Seguin?