Giuseppe Sinopoli
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Giuseppe Sinopoli (born November 2, 1946, Venice, Italy; died April 20, 2001, Berlin, Germany) was a conductor and composer. He obtained a degree in medicine from the University of Padua. He completed a dissertation on criminal anthropology.[1]
Sinopoli studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatoire and later at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen. He began to make a name for himself as a composer of serial works, becoming professor of contemporary and electronic music at the Venice Conservatoire in 1972. He studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky, and founded the Bruno Maderna Ensemble in the 1970's. His single most famous composition is perhaps his opera Lou Salomé, which received its first production in Munich in 1981.[2]
Sinopoli was appointed principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1984, and served in this position until 1994, making a number of recordings with them, including music of Edward Elgar and the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler[3]. He became chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden in 1992. He is best known for his intense and sometimes controversial interpretations of opera, especially works by Italian composers and Richard Strauss. He received criticism for his slow tempi in his conducting of symphonic works.
In April 2001, Sinopoli died of a heart attack while conducting Giuseppe Verdi's Aïda at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. His last recordings included Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Friedenstag[4], as well as Dvorak's Stabat Mater. His wife Silvia and two sons survive him.
[edit] References
| Preceded by Thomas Schippers |
Principal Conductor, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia 1983–1987 |
Succeeded by Uto Ughi |
| Preceded by Riccardo Muti |
Principal Conductor, Philharmonia Orchestra 1984–1994 |
Succeeded by Christoph von Dohnányi |
| Preceded by Hans Vonk |
Chief Conductor, Dresden Staatskapelle 1992–2001 |
Succeeded by Bernard Haitink |
