Lorin Maazel

Maazel Makes Sense of Die Walküre; Richard Jones' (Almost) Adult Hansel and Gretel

Alice Coote, Philip Langridge and Christine Schäfer in Engelbert Humperdinck’s <i>Hansel and Gretel</i>.
Ken Howard
Alice Coote, Philip Langridge and Christine Schäfer in Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.

January may be a dead time for the movie business, but in New York, at least, classical music snaps back with a vengeance. Last week brought an exceptional head rush, as fond returns and new beginnings crowded the calendar.

At the center of it was Lorin Maazel, who, despite his advanced age—and the critical drubbing he regularly endures—remains the most resilient conductor on the American scene. On Jan. 7, after an absence of 45 years, he returned to the Metropolitan Opera to lead a triumphant revival of Die Walküre.  read more »

After 45 Years, Conductor Makes His Met Comeback

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Tonight, when Lorin Maazel, the music director of the New York Philharmonic, lifts his wand to conducts the opening of Wagner’s Walküre, it will be his first appearance at the Met since January 1963 — when he was just 32 years old. That was "when top tickets were $11 instead of $375, Robert F. Wagner was mayor, and the Met was still on Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets," writes Daniel J. Wakin of the New York Times.  read more »

Why Philharmonic Went With Maazel: Best Ears in Biz

So the New York Philharmonic will get an American conductor after all.  read more »

Having Retired the Great Masur, Philharmonic Can't Find Maestro

When the New York Philharmonic decided in early 1998 that it would not renew musical director Kurt M  read more »