Lorin Maazel, born 6th. March, 1930, is a conductor, violinist and composer. Lorin Maazel was born to Jewish-French parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the USA. Raised by a musical family, Lorin Maazel was a prodigy, taking his first conducting lesson at the age of 7 and making his conducting debut at the age of 8! At 11 he guest conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra on the radio. ...show more

Lorin Maazel, born 6th. March, 1930, is a conductor, violinist and composer. Lorin Maazel was born to Jewish-French parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the USA. Raised by a musical family, Lorin Maazel was a prodigy, taking his first conducting lesson at the age of 7 and making his conducting debut at the age of 8! At 11 he guest conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra on the radio.

At the age of 12 he toured America to conduct major orchestras. He made his violin debut at the age of 15. He later studied at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1960, Lorin Maazel became the first American to conduct at Bayreuth.

He was conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1965 to 1971 and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1965 to 1975. In 1972, Lorin Maazel began his tenure as music director at the Cleveland Orchestra, succeeding George Szell. During his time there he made the first complete recording of Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. He has not conducted the Cleveland Orchestra since his departure in 1982. ...show less