Lawrence Foster (born October 23, 1941, in Los Angeles, California) is an American conductor of Romanian ancestry.[1] He is currently the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Foster became the conductor of the San Francisco Ballet at the age of 18, and served as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. He has held music directorships with the Houston Symphony, the Ojai Music Festival, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya in Spain.
In 1990, Foster was appointed Music Director of the Aspen Music Festival and School.[2]
From 2002 to 2013, Foster was the Music Director of the Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, Portugal. He also served as Music Director of the Orchestre National de Montpellier and the Opéra National de Montpellier from 2009 to 2012. In February 2012, Foster was announced as the next music director of l'Opéra de Marseille and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille.[3] As of 2019 Foster is the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR).
Foster is particularly noted as an interpreter of the works of George Enescu, and has made a comprehensive survey of commercial recordings of Enescu's music.[3] In 2003, he was decorated by the Romanian President for services to Romanian Music.[4]
Foster has recorded a number of discs for PENTATONE,[5] including Gordon Getty's opera Usher House, Schumann's symphonies, orchestral works by Kodály, Bartók and Ligeti, and piano and violin concertos by Bruch, Korngold, Rachmaninov, Grieg and Chopin, with various soloists.
Selected discography
- Richard Strauss - Violin Concerto / Miniatures. Arabella Steinbacher, Lawrence Foster , WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne. PENTATONE PTC 5186653 (2018).
- Johann Strauss Jr - Die Fledermaus. Lawrence Foster, Nikolai Schukoff, Laura Aikin, NDR Radiophilharmonie , WDR Rundfunkchor Köln. PENTATONE PTC 5186635 (2018).
- Mephistopheles and Other Bad Guys. Lawrence Foster, Kevin Short, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, Male chorus of the Opera de Marseille. PENTATONE PTC 5186585 (2018).
- A Certain Slant of Light. Lisa Delan, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille. PENTATONE PTC 5186634 (2018).
- Martinu - Double Concertos. Mari Kodama, Momo Kodama, Sarah Nemtanu, Deborah Nemtanu, Magali Demesse , Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille. PENTATONE PTC 5186658 (2018).
- Giuseppe Verdi - Otello. Nikolai Schukoff, Melody Moore, Lester Lynch, Kevin Short, Lawrence Foster, Gulbenkian Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186562 (2017)
- Fantasies, Rhapsodies and Daydreams. Works by Camille Saint-Saëns, Maurice Ravel, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Pablo de Sarasate, Jules Massenet. Arabella Steinbacher, Lawrence Foster, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo PENTATONE PTC 5186536 (2016).
- Max Bruch & Erich Korngold Violin Concertos & Ernest Chausson Poème. Arabella Steinbacher, Lawrence Foster, Gulbenkian Orchestra PENTATONE PTC 5186503 (2013)
- Gordon Getty - Usher House. Etienne Dupuis, Phillip Ens, Lisa Delan, Christian Elsner, Lawrence Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, Gulbenkian Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 518645 (2013).
- Johann Strauss Jr. - Der Zigeunerbaron (Operetta in 3 Acts; version 1886). Nikolai Schukoff, Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Markus Brück, Jasmina Sakr, Claudia Barainsky, Heinz Zednik, Paul Kaufmann, Khatuna Mikaberidze, Renate Pitscheider, Lawrence Foster, NDR Philharmonie, NDR Chor. PENTATONE PTC 5186482 (2016).
- Rachmaninov & Grieg - Piano Concertos Sa Chen, Lawrence Foster, Gulbenkian Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186444 (2011).
- Antonio Salieri Requiem in C minor, Beethoven Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt, Schubert Intende voci. Lawrence Foster, Coro Gulbenkian, Gulbenkian Orchestra PENTATONE PTC 5186359 (2010).
- Zoltán Kodály, Béla Bartók, György Ligeti - Orchestral Works. Lawrence Foster, Mihaela Costea, Esther Georgie, Cyril Dupuy, Jonathan Luxton, Kenneth Best, Gulbenkian Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186360 (2010).
- Robert Schumann - Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4. Lawrence Foster, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186327 (2009).
- Robert Schumann - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2. Lawrence Foster, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186326 (2008).
- Frédéric Chopin - The 2 Piano Concertos. Sa Chen, Lawrence Foster, Gulbenkian Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186341 (2008).
- Concertos from My Childhood - Itzhak Perlman, Lawrence Foster, Juilliard Orchestra. EMI Classics: 7243 5 56750 2 6 (1999).
References
- ^ "Lawrence Foster". Festivalenescu.ro. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "Aspen Music Festival Appoints New Director". New York Times. 1990-08-17.
- ^ a b "Le chef d'orchestre Lawrence Foster à la tête du Philharmonique de Marseille". L'Express. 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ^ "Lawrence Foster". HarrisonParrott. 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
- ^ "Lawrence Foster". pentatonemusic. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
External links
- Harrison Parrott agency biography
- Opus 3 Artists agency biography
- Lawrence Foster on IMDb
- Mark Swed, "Lawrence Foster at 70". Los Angeles Times, "Culture Monster" blog, 21 October 2011
- "Lawrence Foster appointed Music Director of Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille". Harrison Parrott agency release, 7 February 2012
- "Lawrence Foster officially begins his first season as Music Director of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra". Harrison Parrott agency release, 11 October 2019
| Cultural offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by André Previn | Music Director, Houston Symphony 1971-1979 | Succeeded by Sergiu Comissiona |
| Preceded by Lovro von Matačić | Music Director, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra 1980–1990 | Succeeded by Gianluigi Gelmetti |
| Preceded by Armin Jordan | Music Director, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra 1985–1990 | Succeeded by Jesús López-Cobos |
| Preceded by Gary Bertini | Music Director, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra 1988–1992 | Succeeded by David Shallon |
| Preceded by Jorge Mester | Music Director, Aspen Music Festival and School 1990–1998 | Succeeded by David Zinman |
| Preceded by Luis Antonio García Navarro | Music Director, Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya 1994-2002 | Succeeded by Ernest Martínez Izquierdo |
| Preceded by Muhai Tang | Principal Conductor, Gulbenkian Orchestra 2002-2013 | Succeeded by Paul McCreesh |
| Preceded by Friedemann Layer | Music Director, Orchestre et Opéra National de Montpellier 2009-2012 | Succeeded by Michael Schønwandt |
| Preceded by Cyril Diederich | Music Director, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille 2012-present | Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Alexander Liebreich | Artistic Director and Chief Conductor, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra 2019-present | Succeeded by incumbent |