Arpad Joó
Encyclopedia
Arpad Joó is a Hungarian
.
). At a very early age, his mother, herself an accomplished pianist and teacher had discovered his musical talent. At the age of five he began his musical studies with his mother and a year later he entered the then newly established Kodály School of Music, under the personal supervision of the Hungarian composer-educator Zoltán Kodály
.
Very shortly he attracted the attention of Kodaly himself, who developed a lifelong teacher-student relationship with Mr. Joo, which lasted until the death of the composer. During his studies in the Kodaly school he was introduced by his teachers to visiting musicians such as Igor Stravinsky
, Aram Khachaturian
, Pablo Casals
, Carl Orff
, Yehudi Menuhin
, and Dmitri Shostakovich
.
He studied at the Bartók Conservatory and, at the age of 16, he was admitted to the University level of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music
where he studied piano with Joseph Gat and P. Kadosa. By this time he had won his first international Piano competition in Taormina
in Italy, playing the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1.
As a child prodigy he periodically visited Salzburg
, Austria
to study at the Mozarteum. At the age of 17 he was invited to give a solo recital in the Montreux festival (Switzerland) in the same series as Martha Argerich, Geza Anda, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Joo’s piano performances took him to Switzerland, Germany, Chechoslovakia and Germany.
of Music in New York City as a Special Student. In his first year of study at Juilliard, he won the First Prize of the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition
in Boston
, Massachusetts
.
He became a citizen of the United States
and started his conducting career in San Diego, California
at the age of 21, conducting at the Summer Festival a production of the Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. At the age of 22, he entered Indiana University
, in Bloomington, Indiana
to study conducting. He graduated with a MM in Conducting (Orchestral and Opera). During this time he also studied conducting with Igor Markevitch
in Monte Carlo after which he was named the resident Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
in Tennessee
at the age of 24. Joo was the youngest ever Music Director/Conductor of a metropolitan orchestra in the history of the United States. During this time he guest conducted in many different places including the Netherlands, Mexico, and the US. At the age of 26, the cultural arm of the United Nations, UNESCO
, selected him to conduct a special performance representing the United States in Monte Carlo —which he accomplished to great critical acclaim. At this time he has became a private student/confidante of the Italian conductor Carlo Maria Giulini
.
Next he became the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
. During this time he had many guest conducting appearances all over the world, with many leading orchestras of the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra
, The Philharmonia Orchestra of London, London Philharmonic Orchestra
, Amsterdam Philharmonic
, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
, and Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra.
In 1980-81, he recorded the complete orchestral works of Béla Bartók
with the Budapest Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras. Virtually all the newspapers and magazines in the United States and Europe such as Newsweek, Time Magazine, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday Review, Chicago Tribune, The Times, (even Sports Illustrated and National Geographic) hailed these recordings as a milestone both in digital (then new) technology and the quality of the performances. Stereo Review (1981) awarded the Record of the Year to maestro Joo for his five-disc Bartók set. In 1982, he recorded the complete orchestral works of Kodaly. For the next 15 years, he conducted many of the leading orchestras of the world and toured in Germany, England, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands.
In 1987, he took the position of Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica De Radio Television Espanola
in Madrid
, Spain
(Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra) under Royal Patronage. He was only the third foreign–born conductor to hold this position (after Igor Markevitch
and Sergiu Celibidache
).
In 1987, Joo recorded the Complete Orchestral Works of Franz Liszt for which he has received the coveted “Grand Prix du Disque” in Paris, directly from the French Minister of Culture, Mr. Leotard.
He also held the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the European Community Chamber Orchestra. (Residency: London, England) Later he has become the Music Director and Conductor of Brabant Orchestra in the Netherlands, conducting many performances throughout Europe (Brighton –England- festival, Concertgebouw Amsterdam).
Joo has also conducted concert tours with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Germany 10 concerts), Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra (Germany 25-25 concerts), Hungarian State Orchestra (England 8 concerts), Budapest Concert Orchestra (Netherlands, Italy, Spain 22 concerts), The Spanish Radio Orchestra (France, Spain), and Philharmonia Hungarica.
He founded in Budapest, Hungary, the European Symphony Orchestra, of which he has been the Principal Conductor since 1998.
In addition to his busy conducting schedule Joo has taught Master classes and has given lectures at various US and Canadian Universities, such as Indiana University (Visiting Professor of Music), Banff Centre of the Arts (Canada), Mount Royal College, University of Alberta, Canada; for two years in succession he has taken over the Master Classes in Conducting for young conductors in Assisi, Italy from the most famous conducting teacher of the 20th Century, Maestro Franco Ferrara
, thus inheriting the “mantle” of this most respected and beloved teacher.
His discography includes more than 50 CDs.
----
N.B. Biographical Material of Maestro Joo’s Conducting career and repertoire in opera is not included in this short and partial biographical sketch.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Early life
Maestro Joo was born in Hungary, Europe. Coming from an ancient line of Hungarian nobility—his father's side was raised to ranks by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Rudolf, in recognition of scholarly achievements—and on his mother's side a direct line of descent to the Royal family of England, the House of Windsor. The Family was famous for the academic and artistic achievements through the centuries. His grandmother was an eminent pupil of Thoman, at the Franz Liszt Academy (a direct disciple of Franz LisztFranz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
). At a very early age, his mother, herself an accomplished pianist and teacher had discovered his musical talent. At the age of five he began his musical studies with his mother and a year later he entered the then newly established Kodály School of Music, under the personal supervision of the Hungarian composer-educator Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
.
Very shortly he attracted the attention of Kodaly himself, who developed a lifelong teacher-student relationship with Mr. Joo, which lasted until the death of the composer. During his studies in the Kodaly school he was introduced by his teachers to visiting musicians such as Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
, Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
, Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, and Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
.
He studied at the Bartók Conservatory and, at the age of 16, he was admitted to the University level of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...
where he studied piano with Joseph Gat and P. Kadosa. By this time he had won his first international Piano competition in Taormina
Taormina
Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century...
in Italy, playing the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1.
As a child prodigy he periodically visited Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to study at the Mozarteum. At the age of 17 he was invited to give a solo recital in the Montreux festival (Switzerland) in the same series as Martha Argerich, Geza Anda, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Joo’s piano performances took him to Switzerland, Germany, Chechoslovakia and Germany.
Career
At the age of 20, Joo emigrated to the United States, to study at the Juilliard SchoolJuilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
of Music in New York City as a Special Student. In his first year of study at Juilliard, he won the First Prize of the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition
International Franz Liszt Piano Competition
The International Franz Liszt Piano Competition , a member of WFIMC, is an international piano competition.The Competition is held in Utrecht in the Netherlands. It first took place in 1986, one hundred years after the death of Franz Liszt...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
He became a citizen of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and started his conducting career in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
at the age of 21, conducting at the Summer Festival a production of the Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. At the age of 22, he entered Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
to study conducting. He graduated with a MM in Conducting (Orchestral and Opera). During this time he also studied conducting with Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch was a Ukrainian, Italian, and French composer and conductor.- Origin :Igor Markevich was born in Kiev, to an old family of Ukrainian Cossack starshyna ennobled in the 18th century...
in Monte Carlo after which he was named the resident Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra in Knoxville, Tennessee.The orchestra was established in 1935 and is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeastern United States. The founding conductor was Bertha Walburn Clark, who led the group until 1946...
in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
at the age of 24. Joo was the youngest ever Music Director/Conductor of a metropolitan orchestra in the history of the United States. During this time he guest conducted in many different places including the Netherlands, Mexico, and the US. At the age of 26, the cultural arm of the United Nations, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, selected him to conduct a special performance representing the United States in Monte Carlo —which he accomplished to great critical acclaim. At this time he has became a private student/confidante of the Italian conductor Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
.
Next he became the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra, based in Calgary, Alberta. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts...
. During this time he had many guest conducting appearances all over the world, with many leading orchestras of the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, The Philharmonia Orchestra of London, London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
, Amsterdam Philharmonic
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra is Hungary's oldest functioning orchestra, being founded in 1853 by Ferenc Erkel under the auspices of the Budapest Philharmonic Society...
, and Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra.
In 1980-81, he recorded the complete orchestral works of Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
with the Budapest Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras. Virtually all the newspapers and magazines in the United States and Europe such as Newsweek, Time Magazine, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday Review, Chicago Tribune, The Times, (even Sports Illustrated and National Geographic) hailed these recordings as a milestone both in digital (then new) technology and the quality of the performances. Stereo Review (1981) awarded the Record of the Year to maestro Joo for his five-disc Bartók set. In 1982, he recorded the complete orchestral works of Kodaly. For the next 15 years, he conducted many of the leading orchestras of the world and toured in Germany, England, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands.
In 1987, he took the position of Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica De Radio Television Espanola
RTVE Symphony Orchestra
The RTVE Symphony Orchestra , also known as the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra is a Spanish radio orchestra servicing RTVE, the Spanish national broadcasting network....
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra) under Royal Patronage. He was only the third foreign–born conductor to hold this position (after Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch was a Ukrainian, Italian, and French composer and conductor.- Origin :Igor Markevich was born in Kiev, to an old family of Ukrainian Cossack starshyna ennobled in the 18th century...
and Sergiu Celibidache
Sergiu Celibidache
- Biography :Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, and began his studies in music with the piano, after which he studied music, philosophy and mathematics in Bucharest, Romania and then in Paris...
).
In 1987, Joo recorded the Complete Orchestral Works of Franz Liszt for which he has received the coveted “Grand Prix du Disque” in Paris, directly from the French Minister of Culture, Mr. Leotard.
He also held the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the European Community Chamber Orchestra. (Residency: London, England) Later he has become the Music Director and Conductor of Brabant Orchestra in the Netherlands, conducting many performances throughout Europe (Brighton –England- festival, Concertgebouw Amsterdam).
Joo has also conducted concert tours with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Germany 10 concerts), Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra (Germany 25-25 concerts), Hungarian State Orchestra (England 8 concerts), Budapest Concert Orchestra (Netherlands, Italy, Spain 22 concerts), The Spanish Radio Orchestra (France, Spain), and Philharmonia Hungarica.
He founded in Budapest, Hungary, the European Symphony Orchestra, of which he has been the Principal Conductor since 1998.
In addition to his busy conducting schedule Joo has taught Master classes and has given lectures at various US and Canadian Universities, such as Indiana University (Visiting Professor of Music), Banff Centre of the Arts (Canada), Mount Royal College, University of Alberta, Canada; for two years in succession he has taken over the Master Classes in Conducting for young conductors in Assisi, Italy from the most famous conducting teacher of the 20th Century, Maestro Franco Ferrara
Franco Ferrara
Franco Ferrara was an Italian conductor.After obtaining diplomas in piano, violin, organ and musical composition at the Conservatory of Bologna, Ferrara began his career as violin player in Bologna, in Rome and in Florence, with the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino...
, thus inheriting the “mantle” of this most respected and beloved teacher.
Recordings
He has recorded for many international labels, including Hungaroton, Philips, Sefel, Arts, Erasmus, RCA, and Laserlight.His discography includes more than 50 CDs.
With the Philharmonia Orchestra of London
- R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
- R. Strauss: Suites from the Rosenkavalier and “Die Frau Ohne Schatten”
- Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5.
- Wagner: Operatic Arias with Eva Morton
With the London Symphony Orchestra
- Janáček: Sinfonietta
- Kodaly: Hary Suite
- Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Julliett Overture
- Suite Nr. 3
- Brahms : Sympnhony Nr 4
- Ravel: Bolero
- Daphnis Suite Nr.2
With the Amsterdam Philharmonic
- Mahler: Symphony nr. 1 (Record of the Year award)
- Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Cello (Double Concerto)
With the Budapest Symphony Orchestra
- Liszt: Complete Symphonic Poems (5 CDs)- “Grand Prix Du Disque”, Paris, France
- Complete Orchestral Works of Kodaly
- Complete orchestral Works of Bartok (With Budapest Philharmonic), Stereo Review Record of the Year award
- Mahler: Symphony nr. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand)
Video Productions
- Beethoven: 9th Symphony (Hungarian Festival Orchestra)
- Liszt: Legend of the St Elisabeth, Oratorio.(Hungarian State Orchestra and Choir with Soloists)
- Mahler: Symphony Nr. 8 (Symphony of a thousand), Budapest Symphony Orchestra and 5 participating Choirs with Soloists)
- Mahler: Symphony Nr. 2 (Hungarian State Orchestra)
----
N.B. Biographical Material of Maestro Joo’s Conducting career and repertoire in opera is not included in this short and partial biographical sketch.