- Werner Torkanowsky
Werner Torkanowsky (born on
March 30 ,1926 ; died onOctober 20 ,1992 ) was a successful German conductor in both the concert hall and opera house.He was born in Berlin, Germany, and raised on a
kibbutz in Israel, coming to the United States in 1948 to study the violin. From 1954 to 1958, however, he studied conducting underPierre Monteux . Following his debut with the Ballets Espagnoles, he became Music Director ofJerome Robbins 's "Ballet USA."In 1959, Torkanowsky made his debut with the
New York City Opera , with Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Medium", withClaramae Turner in the name part. The next year, he led "The Consul" with the company. It was around that time that he was conductor for a film of that opera, starringPatricia Neway andChester Ludgin . (It went unseen until 2004, when it was released by VAI on DVD, to much acclaim.) He returned to the City Opera in 1962 for, again, "The Consul".In 1961, Torkanowsky first led the
New York Philharmonic as guest conductor, and was to make his first recording with that ensemble:George Rochberg 's Second Symphony, for Columbia (c.1962), which was released by CRI on Compact Disc, in 1997.He went on to conduct many major orchestras, including those in Israel, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Detroit, as well as at the
Spoleto Festival (Samuel Barber 's "Vanessa", 1961).For fourteen years, he was Music Director and Chief Conductor of the New Orleans Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, with whom he made an album for Orion in December 1971. On that recording were works by
Carlisle Floyd ,Alan Hovhaness ("Fra Angelico") andNed Rorem ("Lions"). The Floyd compositions were three excerpts from his "solo cantata on biblical texts," "Pilgrimage", withNorman Treigle . He also conducted performances of Boito's "Mefistofele" with Treigle, for theSan Diego Opera (1973) andSeattle Opera (1974).In 1981, he was named Music Director of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in Maine, where he remained until he succumbed to cancer at the age of sixty-six. Following his death, the Bangor Symphony published a double Compact Disc set of various performances dating from 1989 to 1992. Included are Beethoven's "Die Weihe des Hauses", Tchaikovsky's "Roméo et Juliette", Sibelius' Symphony no.2 (his final performance with the ensemble), Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloé", Schuman's "New England Tripych", Balada's "Fantasias sonoras", as well as his own composition, "3 Movements for Maine". His son, David Torkanowsky (from the first of his three marriages), is a jazz performer in New Orleans.
Bibliography
* [http://www.phoebusapollo.com/stayinginshape.htm "Staying in Shape: A Violinist's Maintenance Notebook"] , by Werner Torkanowsky, [http://www.phoebusapollo.com Phœbus Apollo Music Publishers] , 1992. ISBN 0-9753953-1-9
Reference
* "Maestro's Legacy," by Brian Morgan, "OnStage", Spring 2008.
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