Franz Welser-Möst

Franz Welser-Möst has been Music Director of Zürich Opera since 1995 and he has been appointed Music Director of The Cleveland Orchestra effective from the 2002/03 season. Born in Linz, Austria in 1960 he studied with the composer Balduin Sulzer and has held appointments in Switzerland at Winterthur and Lausanne and Norrköping in Sweden. He also has a close relationship with the Linz Bruckner Festival where he regularly conducts. Franz Welser-Möst made his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986 and, following several successful appearances over the next 4 years, was appointed their Music Director in 1990 a position which he held until 1996. One of the highlights of his time with the LPO was a very successful tour of South Africa in 1993, which involved educational and outreach work. This led to a re-invitation in 1995. Franz Welser-Möst made his first appearance with Zürich Opera in October 1992 in Richard Strauss’ Rosenkavalier and his appointment as Music Director was announced during performances of Dvo_ák’s Rusalka two years later. Recent productions have included Verdi Un Ballo in Maschera, Offenbach Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Massenet Werther, Wagner Parsifal, Janá_ek Jen_fa, Schmidt Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln and Johann Strauss’s Simplicius in its first performance since 1894. Between 2000-2002 he will conduct Wagner’s Ring culminating in two complete cycles at the Zürich Festival in 2002. Guest appearances in opera include Rossini L’Italiana in Algeri and Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro at the Staatsoper Wien, Mozart La Clemenza di Tito at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin and critically acclaimed performances of Strauss Elektra at the Brucknerhaus, Linz. Franz Welser-Möst made his Glyndebourne Opera debut at the Royal Festival Hall in concert performances of Lehár Die Lustige Witwe in 1993 which was also recorded for EMI and at Glyndebourne Festival itself he has conducted performances of Britten Peter Grimes and Mozart Così fan tutte. Franz Welser-Möst is in great demand as guest conductor with the world’s leading orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States he has conducted the New York Philharmonic, Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In Europe he has performed with the Bayerischer Rundfunk, Vienna Philharmonic, Orchestra Filharmonica Della Scala and the Concertgebouw. He will make his Berlin Philharmonic debut in January 2002 and appeared at the 2000 Proms with a performance of Schmidt’s Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln. Franz Welser-Möst has an exclusive contract with EMI and his many recordings include symphonies by Bruckner, Schumann, Beethoven and Korngold as well as Bruckner’s Mass & Te Deum and a disc of works by Gruber. His recording of Schmidt’s Symphony No.4 won the Gramophone Award for Best Orchestral Recording in 1996 and Schmidt’s Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln received the 1998 Japanese Academy Award in the Vocal Music Category. Most recently his recording of Schubert’s (arranged Mahler) String Quartet Death and the Maiden has received widespread acclaim. In 1995 Franz Welser-Möst received an "Outstanding Achievement Award" from the Western Law Center in Los Angeles in recognition of his work for the Institut Hartheim, a home for people with disabilities in Linz, and for his personal support and advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities. © 1996 - 2000 EMI Classics. All Rights Reserved