Yuri Mikhaylovich Ahronovitch Юрий Михайлович Аронович | |
|---|---|
 Yuri Ahronovitch (1986) | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1932-05-13)May 13, 1932 (age 93) Leningrad, Soviet Union |
| Died | October 31, 2002(2002-10-31) (aged 70) |
| Occupation | Conductor |
| Years active | 1956–2002 |
Yuri Mikhaylovich Ahronovitch (Russian:Юрий Михайлович Аронович; 13 May 1932 – 31 October 2002) was aSoviet-bornIsraeliconductor.[1]
Born inLeningrad, he studied music and the violin from the age of 4. In 1954 he graduated as conductor from theLeningrad Conservatory. He studied withNathan Rachlin andKurt Sanderling. Invitations to conduct leading Russian orchestras followed, including theLeningrad Philharmonic and theBolshoi Theatre.
After conducting in Petrozavodsk and Saratov, he was assigned to theYaroslavl Symphony Orchestra 1956–1964, performing symphonic cycles by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky alongside Soviet music such as the works ofAram Khachaturian andTikhon Khrennikov.
In 1964 he was appointed Chief Conductor of theUSSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra and worked there until emigrating toIsrael in 1972.
His recordings for Melodiya, notably Shostakovich's First Symphony, were well received in the West.[2][3]
Immediate invitations followed to conduct and tour with major orchestras: theLondon Symphony Orchestra,Israel Philharmonic,Vienna Symphony Orchestra,Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra,Teatro Alla Scala and others.
From 1975 to 1986 he was Chief Conductor of theCologne Philharmonic Orchestra (Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne) and from 1982 to 1987 Chief Conductor of theStockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Simultaneously Yuri Ahronovitch was also an opera conductor. He conducted at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden, theLyric Opera inChicago, important Italian opera houses and Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana), theRoyal Opera inStockholm,Cologne Opera, theBavarian State Opera inMunich. He made a number of premiere recordings, mainly with the London Symphony, the Stockholm Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
Yuri Ahronovitch was a member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Music from 1984, and in 1987 he was decorated by the King of Sweden as "Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star".
In 1988 inJerusalem he was awarded the "Ettinger Prize for the Arts". InItaly Yuri Ahronovitch was awarded the prize "Arca d'Oro 1991" by the leading Italian newspaperLa Stampa and theUniversity of Turin. Yuri Ahronovitch conducted at numerous international music festivals, such as Bergen, Bregenz, Canary Islands, Florida, Israel, Locarno, Luzern, Munich, Savonnlina, Spoleto, Stresa, and Verona. He conducted his last concert with theOrchestre de Paris in October 2002.
FullYuri Aronovitch discography:
| Cultural offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Principal Conductor, USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra 1964–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Kapellmeister, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne 1975–1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Principal Conductor, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra 1982–1987 | Succeeded by |
