Around the Music Festival

Czech conductor Zdeněk Mácal died on October 25 in a Prague hospital at the age of 87. After defecting to the West during the 1968 “Prague Spring” democracy movement, Mácal continued his international career based in the United States, and from 2003 to 2007 he served as chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Born in Brno in 1936. He studied at the Brno Conservatory and the Janacek Academy of Performing Arts, and won the first prize at the Besançon International Conducting Competition in 1965, and the third prize at the Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition in 1966 in the U.S. He was noticed as a promising young Czechoslovakian conductor at that time.

In 1967, he became the conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and made his debut at the “Prague Spring” Music Festival. He also served as chief conductor of the North German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Hanover from 1980 to 1983, after which he became a U.S. citizen.

In 1986, he was appointed principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia, but clashed with orchestra members and management, stepping down after conducting only five concerts. Since then, he has been Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (1986-1995) and Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (1993-2002), and has conducted over 160 orchestras in his international career.

In his native Czech Republic, he conducted the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the “Prague Spring” Festival in 1996 and 1997, and in 2003 he succeeded Vladimir Ashkenazy as its Music Director. Also, with his appointment as music director, the reissue of his recordings for the state-run Supraphon label before his exile in “Prague Spring” has finally begun.

Photo：ČTK