Claudio Scimone (23 December 1934 – 6 September 2018) was an Italianconductor.
He was born inPadua,Italy and studied conducting withDimitri Mitropoulos andFranco Ferrara.[1] He established an international reputation as a conductor, as well as acomposer. He revived manybaroque andrenaissance works. His discography includes over 150 titles,[2] and he won numerous prizes, including theGrand Prix du Disque of theAcadémie Charles Cros.
Claudio Scimone was the founder ofI Solisti Veneti (the ensemble with which most of his recordings were made) and at the time of his death was the honorary conductor of theGulbenkian Orchestra inLisbon,Portugal.[3][4]
With the Philharmonia of London, he conducted the first recording ofMuzio Clementi’s Symphonies.[5][6]
Scimone led the world to discover the importance ofVivaldi's theatrical works, beginning with the first modern performance ofOrlando furioso, featuringMarilyn Horne andVictoria de Los Angeles.[5]
In the rebornFenice Claudio Scimone directed the first modern revival of the Venetian version ofMaometto secondo byRossini.
He also gave the modern premieres ofMoses in Egypt andOedipus at Colonus by Rossini, andThe Last Judgement bySalieri.
Claudio Scimone was awarded the title of Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic (the highest ranking honour of the Republic). He was also awarded an honorary law degree from theUniversity of Padua.[5]
| Preceded by Juan Pablo Izquierdo | Principal Conductors, Gulbenkian Orchestra 1979–1986 | Succeeded by |
