Biography
Conductor
Herbert Blomstedt
Noble, charming, sober, modest. Such qualities play a major role in human coexistence and are certainly appreciated. However, they are rather unusual in extraordinary personalities such as conductors. Whatever the general public’s notion of a conductor may be, Herbert Blomstedt is an exception, possessing those very qualities which seemingly have so little to do with a conductor’s claim to power. That he disproves the usual clichés in many respects should not lead to the assumption that he does not have the power to assert his clearly defined musical goals. Anyone who has attended Herbert Blomstedt’s rehearsals—and experienced his concentration on the essence of the music, the precision in the phrasing of musical facts and circumstances as they appear in the score, and the tenacity regarding the implementation of an aesthetic view—is likely to have been amazed at how few despotic measures were required to this end. Herbert Blomstedt has always represented the type of artist whose professional competence and natural authority make external emphasis superfluous. His work as a conductor is inseparably linked to his religious and human ethos, and his interpretations combine great faithfulness to the score and analytical precision, with a soulfulness that awakens the music to pulsating life. In the more than sixty years of his career, he has acquired the unrestricted respect of the musical world.
Born in the US to Swedish parents and educated in Uppsala, New York, Darmstadt, and Basel, Mr. Blomstedt gave his conducting debut in 1954 with the Stockholm Philharmonic and subsequently served as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, the Swedish and Danish Radio orchestras, and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Later, he became music director of the San Francisco Symphony, chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. His former orchestras in San Francisco, Leipzig, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Dresden, as well as the Bamberg Symphony and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, all honored him with the title of Conductor Laureate.
Mr. Blomstedt holds several honorary doctorates, is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy, and was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit. Over the years, outstanding ensembles around the globe have been fortunate to secure the services of the highly renowned Swedish conductor. At more than ninety years old, Herbert Blomstedt continues to be at the helm of leading international orchestras with enormous mental and physical presence, verve, and artistic drive.
Feb 2023
Born in the US to Swedish parents and educated in Uppsala, New York, Darmstadt, and Basel, Mr. Blomstedt gave his conducting debut in 1954 with the Stockholm Philharmonic and subsequently served as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, the Swedish and Danish Radio orchestras, and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Later, he became music director of the San Francisco Symphony, chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. His former orchestras in San Francisco, Leipzig, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Dresden, as well as the Bamberg Symphony and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, all honored him with the title of Conductor Laureate.
Mr. Blomstedt holds several honorary doctorates, is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy, and was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit. Over the years, outstanding ensembles around the globe have been fortunate to secure the services of the highly renowned Swedish conductor. At more than ninety years old, Herbert Blomstedt continues to be at the helm of leading international orchestras with enormous mental and physical presence, verve, and artistic drive.
Feb 2023
