Sudden death of noted maestro, 74
UncategorizedThe Musiespana agency has announced the death of the Spanish conductor Miguel Angel Gomez Martinez after being admitted to hospital. No cause has been made known.
A prize-winning student of Hans Swarowsky in Vienna, Gomez Martinez was Principal Conductor of the RTVE Orchestra and Choir. He had an international career as GMD in Mannheim and chief conductor of the Finnish National Opera, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Berne Theatre and others. He was extensively recorded.
Obituary in Scherzo here.
Here’s an extended English interview with Bruce Duffie.
How fortunate I was that he conducted my first Nabucco in Switzerland. Such a joy to work through and learn the role with him.
I liked his performances at the Vienna State Opera in the early 80s. Yet he was often booed, for reasons I couldn’t understand.
His being booed in Vienna was a result of his many miscues, the most remarkable of which was conducting 5/4 rhythm in Il trovatore. Today’s audiences would most likely not notice something like that, but WE did! However, that is water under the bridge … RiP!
Oh my, maybe I was too young and innocent.
Nevertheless, back in the day I remember the Vienna State Opera sound dull and uncoordinated at several repertoire performances, but never under Gomez Martinez. Whatever his flaws, he breathed life into his performances.
Dull and uncoordinated? Really? Back then, in the days of the “Kapellmeister”, some were better than others. The “life” that you perceived in the performances conducted by Gomez Martinez was more than likely due to the fact that the orchestra, be it the “regulars” or the “substitutes” knew that they had to be on the toes with him at the helm because NO ONE – including the audience – ever knew what was coming next!
Don’t know how old you are. I’m 78 and the days of “Gomerl”, as we called him, are long gone, but still fresh in my mind. To say the least he was ONE of a kind!!
The season I spent playing viola with the RTVE Orchestra (1983/84) remains a most cherished experience. It began with an impromptu audition, maestro Gómez Martínez accompanying me at the piano in Hummel’s Fantasy (I vividly remember his grin when the Mozart quotation came along), and ended with an overwhelming Mahler 3 at the Granada Festival under his direction. He had an amazing memory and never used a score at his concerts. I should have stayed longer. Rest in peace.