Franz-Paul Decker

Franz-Paul Decker (June 22, 1923 – May 19, 2014) was a German-born conductor.[1][2]

Life

Decker was born in Cologne, Germany, where he studied at the Hochschule für Musik with Philip Jarnach and Eugen Papst.[3] He made his conducting debut at the age of 22 at the Cologne Opera, and four years later was appointed to the Staatsoper Wiesbaden and subsequently to the positions of conductor of the Wiesbaden Symphony Orchestra and Generalmusikdirecktor in Bochum. In 1948, Decker was introduced to the composer Richard Strauss at a card game of whist. Strauss casually mentioned that he had just finished orchestrating four songs he had recently composed (the Four Last Songs).

Decker was highly regarded for his performances of Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Anton Bruckner, Max Reger and Gustav Mahler.[4] He conducted the world premieres of dozens of orchestral works by Canadian composers, and conducted 85 different operas during his career.

Decker was Music Director of the Municipal Orchestra of Bochum (1956–1964), the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1962–1967), the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1967–1975), the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (1985–1991), and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (1991–1996, as chief conductor).[3] He served as Artistic Advisor to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (1975–1977) and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (1980–1982). He was Principal Guest Conductor of Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra (1991–1999) and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (2003–2004).

Among the soloists he collaborated with were Arthur Rubinstein, Emil Gilels, Shura Cherkassky, Clara Haskil, Ida Haendel, Martha Argerich, Hélène Grimaud, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Jessye Norman, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Jon Vickers. His television broadcast of a Christmas concert with Luciano Pavarotti and orchestra, filmed at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal in 1978 was broadcast annually around the world.

In 1975 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Concordia University.[5] He died in Montreal, Canada.

References

  1. "À la mémoire de Franz-Paul Decker". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  2. "Mor l'exdirector titular de l'OBC, Franz-Paul Decker" (in Catalan). Ara. 2014-05-21. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  3. "Franz-Paul Decker". Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  4. "FRANZ-PAUL DECKER". Naxos Records. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. "Honorary Degree Citation - Franz Paul Decker* | Concordia University Archives". archives.concordia.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Eduard Flipse
Music Directors, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
19621967
Succeeded by
Jean Fournet
Preceded by
Antoni Ros-Marbà
Music Director and Principal Conductor, Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona
19861991
Succeeded by
Antonio García Navarro
Preceded by
Zubin Mehta
Directeur artistique, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
19671975
Succeeded by
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.