Robert Spano
Encyclopedia
Robert Spano is an American conductor
and pianist
. Since 2001 he has been Music Director
of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
(ASO), and he served as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic
from 1996 to 2004. He is the Music Director Designate of the Aspen Music Festival and School
, beginning full-time responsibilities in the 2012 season.
Spano has gained national and international prominence in recent years, appearing with major orchestra
s and opera
companies throughout the United States and Europe. He is regarded as an advocate of contemporary composers
, and has earned a reputation for ambitious and adventurous orchestral programming and presentation.
In addition to raising his profile with, for example, appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman
, Spano has made several prominent recordings with the ASO, which have garnered multiple Grammy Award
s. Spano has also won the favor of many major music critics
, and he is frequently mentioned as a candidate to lead any of the most prominent
orchestras in the USA.
, Indiana
. His father, Tony Spano, was a flute-builder and instrument-repairman as well as a clarinetist. Spano began making music early, studying piano, flute and violin. By the age of 14, he conducted a composition of his own with the local orchestra.
After graduating from Elkhart Central High School, he studied at the Oberlin Conservatory
, where he earned a degree in piano performance, while also pursuing the violin and composition and studying conducting with Robert Baustian. After Oberlin he went on to the Curtis Institute of Music
in Philadelphia to train with Max Rudolf.
In 1985, he left Curtis to take his first professional position, Director of Orchestral Activities, at Bowling Green State University
in Bowling Green, Ohio
, where he briefly considered pursuing a degree in philosophy. In 1989 he returned to Oberlin, now as a faculty member, leading the Opera Theater program. He has maintained at least an official affiliation with Oberlin ever since, despite the physical separation enforced by his international performing career.
, under Seiji Ozawa
. Spano's profile rose steadily while in Boston. Since he left the post in 1993, he has been a regular guest conductor with the Boston Symphony and a teacher at the Tanglewood Music Center
in the summertime. At Tanglewood, he headed the conductor training program from 1998 to 2002, and directed the Festival of Contemporary Music in 2003 and 2004.
From 1993 until 1996 he traveled the world nonstop, conducting concerts and operas – for a time not even having a home address. Eventually his travels would team him with orchestras in Chicago
, Cleveland
, Philadelphia
, New York
, Los Angeles
, and other cities throughout North America, and overseas from Amsterdam
to Zurich
. He has conducted operas at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden
in London
, the Welsh National Opera
, and the opera houses of Chicago
, Houston
, Santa Fe
, and Seattle
(the latter most notably in 2005 and again in 2009 when he led cycles of Wagner
's Der Ring des Nibelungen
to general acclaim).
In 1995, Spano's first music directorship was announced, with the Brooklyn Philharmonic
. He began his tenure in the fall of 1996, and quickly garnered acclaim. Over the next few years, despite multiple financial crises, Spano and the orchestra gained a fervent following in the New York musical community and press. Working with executive director Joseph Horowitz, Spano developed innovative programs organized around intellectual, dramatic, or historical themes, and often with jarring stylistic juxtapositions featuring unfamiliar works alongside standard repertoire. He also explored the use of visual elements in his programs to augment the standard orchestral concert experience.
. When his appointment was first announced in February 2000, it was widely regarded, in Atlanta and nationally, as a coup for the orchestra.
In a gesture toward collaborative leadership in what is traditionally an autocratic culture, Spano was hired concurrently with Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles
(Music Director of the San Francisco Opera
), and it was announced that they would "share responsibilities," including programming, with ASO President Alison Vulgamore acting as a "facilitator." Both of their contracts have been renewed and subsequently extended, currently running through the 2008/09 season. In March 2008, the orchestra and Spano announced the extension of his contract as Music Director through the 2013/2014 season.
Spano, however, remains the face of the organization, and his profile has continued to rise. After some troubled years for the orchestra in the 1990s, and despite his would-be gala debut as Music Director being marred by the September 11 attacks just four days earlier, most have judged Spano's tenure to have greatly bolstered the orchestra's morale, and maintained artistic standards. The ASO also has reported increased ticket sales and donations during Spano's tenure.
Spano, whose work was unrepresented on recordings prior to coming to Atlanta, has particularly benefited from the orchestra's previously existing relationship with Telarc Records, which dates back to the ASO's years with Robert Shaw
. Spano and the ASO have released several CDs on the Telarc label, ranging from new works to standard repertoire, which have been well-received and won several awards (see below). More recently they have also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon
.
One interesting project Spano has undertaken in Atlanta involves forging long-term relationships with several living composers, incorporating commissions, multiple performances, and recordings. This "fluid list" includes the composers Osvaldo Golijov
, Jennifer Higdon
, Christopher Theofanidis, and Michael Gandolfi
, and has been dubbed by Spano and the ASO the "Atlanta School"
(the name refers to the orchestra's advocacy itself – only Higdon comes from Atlanta, and none of the composers of the "School" are based there).
In addition to his conducting career, Spano remains active as a pianist, performing frequently as a chamber music
ian – often with his colleagues from Atlanta, Brooklyn, Boston and other orchestras. He also continues to compose his own music, though only in his time off from his performing career.
of the New York Times, and Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe.
Spano was recognized with the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award
in 1994. He has also received honorary degrees from Bowling Green State University and the Curtis Institute of Music, and his recordings have won several Grammy Awards (see below). He also was awarded the Ditson Conductor's Award
in 2008. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/04/07/buzz0407.html
For sources concerning the affiliations listed here, please see Life and career above.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. Since 2001 he has been Music Director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
(ASO), and he served as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Brooklyn Philharmonic
The Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, commonly known as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, is an American orchestra based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City...
from 1996 to 2004. He is the Music Director Designate of the Aspen Music Festival and School
Aspen Music Festival and School
The Aspen Music Festival and School, founded in 1949, is an internationally renowned classical music festival that presents music in an intimate, small-town setting...
, beginning full-time responsibilities in the 2012 season.
Spano has gained national and international prominence in recent years, appearing with major orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
companies throughout the United States and Europe. He is regarded as an advocate of contemporary composers
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
, and has earned a reputation for ambitious and adventurous orchestral programming and presentation.
In addition to raising his profile with, for example, appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, Spano has made several prominent recordings with the ASO, which have garnered multiple Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s. Spano has also won the favor of many major music critics
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
, and he is frequently mentioned as a candidate to lead any of the most prominent
Big Five (orchestras)
In the context of classical music in the United States, the Big Five refers to five symphony orchestras that were considered to be the most prominent and accomplished ensembles when the term gained widespread use by music critics in the late 1950s...
orchestras in the USA.
Early life
Spano grew up in a musical family in ElkhartElkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. His father, Tony Spano, was a flute-builder and instrument-repairman as well as a clarinetist. Spano began making music early, studying piano, flute and violin. By the age of 14, he conducted a composition of his own with the local orchestra.
After graduating from Elkhart Central High School, he studied at the Oberlin Conservatory
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
, where he earned a degree in piano performance, while also pursuing the violin and composition and studying conducting with Robert Baustian. After Oberlin he went on to the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia to train with Max Rudolf.
In 1985, he left Curtis to take his first professional position, Director of Orchestral Activities, at Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
in Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...
, where he briefly considered pursuing a degree in philosophy. In 1989 he returned to Oberlin, now as a faculty member, leading the Opera Theater program. He has maintained at least an official affiliation with Oberlin ever since, despite the physical separation enforced by his international performing career.
Rise to prominence
In 1990, Spano was named as an Assistant Conductor with the Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, under Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
. Spano's profile rose steadily while in Boston. Since he left the post in 1993, he has been a regular guest conductor with the Boston Symphony and a teacher at the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
in the summertime. At Tanglewood, he headed the conductor training program from 1998 to 2002, and directed the Festival of Contemporary Music in 2003 and 2004.
From 1993 until 1996 he traveled the world nonstop, conducting concerts and operas – for a time not even having a home address. Eventually his travels would team him with orchestras in Chicago
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
, Cleveland
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, New York
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, and other cities throughout North America, and overseas from Amsterdam
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...
to Zurich
Tonhalle Orchester Zurich
Tonhalle Orchester Zürich is a symphony orchestra founded in 1868 in Zürich Switzerland, where it established its residence in the neue Tonhalle in 1895....
. He has conducted operas at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
, and the opera houses of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, Houston
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, Santa Fe
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
, and Seattle
Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
(the latter most notably in 2005 and again in 2009 when he led cycles of Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
to general acclaim).
In 1995, Spano's first music directorship was announced, with the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Brooklyn Philharmonic
The Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, commonly known as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, is an American orchestra based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City...
. He began his tenure in the fall of 1996, and quickly garnered acclaim. Over the next few years, despite multiple financial crises, Spano and the orchestra gained a fervent following in the New York musical community and press. Working with executive director Joseph Horowitz, Spano developed innovative programs organized around intellectual, dramatic, or historical themes, and often with jarring stylistic juxtapositions featuring unfamiliar works alongside standard repertoire. He also explored the use of visual elements in his programs to augment the standard orchestral concert experience.
Atlanta
In 2002, Spano announced his intention to step down from the Brooklyn post at the end of the 2003/04 season, remaining as an advisor, and then principal guest conductor, until 2007. By then, Spano had already assumed his new position, as Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony OrchestraAtlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
. When his appointment was first announced in February 2000, it was widely regarded, in Atlanta and nationally, as a coup for the orchestra.
In a gesture toward collaborative leadership in what is traditionally an autocratic culture, Spano was hired concurrently with Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles
Donald Runnicles
Donald Runnicles is a Scottish conductor who has worked extensively in other countries, particularly Germany and the USA....
(Music Director of the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
), and it was announced that they would "share responsibilities," including programming, with ASO President Alison Vulgamore acting as a "facilitator." Both of their contracts have been renewed and subsequently extended, currently running through the 2008/09 season. In March 2008, the orchestra and Spano announced the extension of his contract as Music Director through the 2013/2014 season.
Spano, however, remains the face of the organization, and his profile has continued to rise. After some troubled years for the orchestra in the 1990s, and despite his would-be gala debut as Music Director being marred by the September 11 attacks just four days earlier, most have judged Spano's tenure to have greatly bolstered the orchestra's morale, and maintained artistic standards. The ASO also has reported increased ticket sales and donations during Spano's tenure.
Spano, whose work was unrepresented on recordings prior to coming to Atlanta, has particularly benefited from the orchestra's previously existing relationship with Telarc Records, which dates back to the ASO's years with Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (conductor)
Robert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship...
. Spano and the ASO have released several CDs on the Telarc label, ranging from new works to standard repertoire, which have been well-received and won several awards (see below). More recently they have also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
.
One interesting project Spano has undertaken in Atlanta involves forging long-term relationships with several living composers, incorporating commissions, multiple performances, and recordings. This "fluid list" includes the composers Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov is a Grammy award–winning composer of classical music.-Biography:Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family that had emigrated to Argentina in the 1920s from Romania and Russia.Golijov has developed a rich musical language, the result of...
, Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Higdon is an American composer of classical music. Higdon has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto and the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Percussion Concerto.-Biography:Higdon was born in Brooklyn,...
, Christopher Theofanidis, and Michael Gandolfi
Michael Gandolfi
Michael James Gandolfi is an American composer of contemporary classical music.Initially a self-taught guitarist, Gandolfi entered the Berklee College of Music before transferring to the New England Conservatory of Music after one year...
, and has been dubbed by Spano and the ASO the "Atlanta School"
Atlanta School of Composers
The Atlanta School of Composers is a group of contemporary classical music composers championed by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and conductor Robert Spano through performances, recordings, and commissions. Members of the group include Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Theofanidis, Osvaldo Golijov, and...
(the name refers to the orchestra's advocacy itself – only Higdon comes from Atlanta, and none of the composers of the "School" are based there).
In addition to his conducting career, Spano remains active as a pianist, performing frequently as a chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
ian – often with his colleagues from Atlanta, Brooklyn, Boston and other orchestras. He also continues to compose his own music, though only in his time off from his performing career.
Critical praise and awards
Spano has won praise from several leading music critics, such as Justin Davidson of Newsday, Pierre Ruhe of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bernard HollandBernard Holland
Bernard Holland is an internationally recognized American music critic. He served on the staff of The New York Times from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper....
of the New York Times, and Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe.
Spano was recognized with the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award
Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award
The Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award was an award for conductors in the United States.-History:The award was established in 1985 as the Affiliate Artists' Seaver Conducting Award. The award was being given every two or three years. The award was conceived by the Seaver...
in 1994. He has also received honorary degrees from Bowling Green State University and the Curtis Institute of Music, and his recordings have won several Grammy Awards (see below). He also was awarded the Ditson Conductor's Award
Ditson Conductor's Award
The Ditson Conductor's Award, established in 1945, is the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to the performance of American music. The US$5,000 purse endowed by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University was increased in 1999 from US$1,000.Upon the death of Alice M. Ditson,...
in 2008. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/04/07/buzz0407.html
Affiliations
This is a summary list of organizations with which Spano has had a staff-affiliation. Guest conducting appearances, visiting faculty affiliations, etc., do not appear. For a more exhaustive list of these please see his Official Bio (described in External links below).For sources concerning the affiliations listed here, please see Life and career above.
- Atlanta Symphony OrchestraAtlanta Symphony OrchestraThe Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
-
- Music Director 2001–present
- Brooklyn PhilharmonicBrooklyn PhilharmonicThe Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, commonly known as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, is an American orchestra based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City...
- Brooklyn Philharmonic
- Music Director 1996–2004
- Artistic Advisor 2004–2005
- Principal Guest Conductor 2005–2007
- Tanglewood Music CenterTanglewoodTanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
- Tanglewood Music Center
- Director: Conducting Fellowship Program 1998–2002
- Director: Festival of Contemporary Music 2003–2004
- Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony OrchestraThe Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
- Boston Symphony Orchestra
- Assistant Conductor 1990–1993
- Oberlin Conservatory of MusicOberlin Conservatory of MusicThe Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
- Oberlin Conservatory of Music
- Professor of Conducting 1989–present
- Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green State UniversityBowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
- Bowling Green State University
- Assistant Professor of Conducting 1985–1989
- Music Director 2001–present
Recordings
All recordings feature Spano conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and ASO Chorus (as appropriate). Additional featured soloists are noted.- Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
: ScheherazadeScheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)Sheherazade , Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful...
, Op. 35; Russian Easter Overture Telarc CD #80568 (2001). Cecylia Arzewski, solo violin.
-
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 2007-03-25)
- Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
: A Sea Symphony (Symphony #1). Telarc CD #80588 (2002). Christine Goerke, soprano; Brett Polegato, baritone.
- Vaughan Williams
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 2007-03-25)
- Awards: Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album, Best Choral Performance, and Best Engineered Album, 2003.
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- Theofanidis: Rainbow Body; BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
: Symphony No.1, Op. 9; CoplandAaron CoplandAaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
: Suite from Appalachian SpringAppalachian SpringAppalachian Spring is a modern score composed by Aaron Copland that premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite...
; HigdonJennifer HigdonJennifer Higdon is an American composer of classical music. Higdon has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto and the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Percussion Concerto.-Biography:Higdon was born in Brooklyn,...
: Blue Cathedral. Telarc CD #80596 (2003).
- Theofanidis: Rainbow Body; Barber
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- HigdonJennifer HigdonJennifer Higdon is an American composer of classical music. Higdon has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto and the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Percussion Concerto.-Biography:Higdon was born in Brooklyn,...
: City Scape; Concerto for Orchestra. Telarc CD #80620 (2004).
- Higdon
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
: Requiem, Op. 5Requiem (Berlioz)The Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5 by Hector Berlioz was composed in 1837. The Grande Messe des Morts is one of Berlioz's best-known works, with a tremendous orchestration of woodwind and brass instruments, including four antiphonal offstage brass ensembles placed at the corners of the concert stage...
(Grande Messe des Morts). Telarc CD #80627 SACD #60627 (2004). Frank Lopardo, tenor.
- Berlioz
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- Awards: Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, 2005.
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- Del TrediciDavid Del TrediciDavid Del Tredici, born March 16, 1937 in Cloverdale, California, is an American composer. According to Del Tredici's website, Aaron Copland said David Del Tredici "is that rare find among composers — a creator with a truly original gift...
: Paul Revere's Ride; Theofanidis: The Here and Now; BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
: "Lamentation" from Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah)Symphony No. 1 (Bernstein)Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 Jeremiah was composed in 1942. Jeremiah is a programmatic work, following the Biblical story of the prophet Jeremiah. It uses texts from the Book of Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible...
. Telarc CD #80638 (2005). Hila PlitmannHila PlitmannHila Plitmann is an operatic soprano specializing in the performance of new works. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, composer Eric Whitacre, and their son.- Career :...
, soprano; Richard Clement, tenor; Brett Polegato, baritone; Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano.
- Del Tredici
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- Awards: Gramophone Magazine "Editor's Choice" (December 2005).
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- SibeliusJean SibeliusJean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
: Kullervo, Op. 7Kullervo (Sibelius)Kullervo, Op. 7 is an early symphonic poem for soloists, chorus and orchestra, written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.The work, based on the character of Kullervo from the epic poem Kalevala, premiered to great critical acclaim on 28 April 1892. The soloists at the premiere were Emmy Achté...
. Telarc CD #80665 (2006).
- Sibelius
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- GolijovOsvaldo GolijovOsvaldo Noé Golijov is a Grammy award–winning composer of classical music.-Biography:Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family that had emigrated to Argentina in the 1920s from Romania and Russia.Golijov has developed a rich musical language, the result of...
: AinadamarAinadamarAinadamar means "Fountain of Tears" in Arabic, and is the first opera by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The libretto is by American playwright David Henry Hwang. It premiered in Tanglewood on August 10, 2003. After major revisions, the new version premiered at the Santa Fe Opera on July 30,...
(Fountain Of Tears) Deutsche Grammophon CD #477 616-5 (2006). Dawn UpshawDawn UpshawDawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
, soprano; Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano.
- Golijov
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- Awards: Grammy Awards for Best Opera Recording, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, 2006.
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
- TallisThomas TallisThomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...
: Why Fum'th in Fight; Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
: Symphony No. 5Symphony No. 5 (Vaughan Williams)Symphony No. 5 by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was written between 1938 and 1943. In style it represents a shift away from the violent dissonance of the Fourth Symphony, and a return to the more romantic style of the earlier Pastoral Symphony...
/Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis/Serenade to MusicSerenade to MusicSerenade to Music is a work by Ralph Vaughan Williams for 16 vocal soloists and orchestra, composed in 1938. The text is an adaptation of the discussion about music and the music of the spheres in Act V, Scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. Vaughan Williams later arranged...
Teldarc CD# 80676 (2007) Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Studebaker, tenor; Nmon Ford, baritone, ASO Chamber Chorus
- Tallis
- Product page / Audio samples (Accessed 25 March 2007)
External links
- Robert Spano – Artist Homepage from Kirshbaum Demler & Associates. Official bio; discography; news, etc. Accessed 24 March 2007
- The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra homepage. Accessed 24 March 2007
- 1998 Radio Interview with Brian Bell of WGBH in BostonWGBH (FM)WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV....
. Spano discusses MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's Italian Symphony. Accessed 24 March 2007 - Artist page at Telarc International. Older bio; list of Telarc cd's; audio samples. Accessed 24 March 2007
- Index of Articles relating to Spano from The New York Times. (Paid subscription required for some articles). Accessed 24 March 2007
Interviews
- Interview by Bruce Duffie, October 26, 1998
- 2005 Print Interview with Pierre Ruhe of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Spano discusses conducting WagnerRichard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Ring Cycle. (also cited above) Accessed 24 March 2007