Christoph von Dohnányi, the German conductor and longtime music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, passed away last Saturday, September 6, two days shy of his 96th birthday.
Dohnányi was born in Berlin into a high profile family. His grandfather was Ernst von Dohnányi, a Hungarian composer and pianist. His uncle was the Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In 1945, when Dohnányi was 15 years old, his father and uncle were sent to a concentration camp and executed as a result of their activities in the German resistance movement against the Nazis.
In his youth, Dohnányi rose through the ranks of regional German opera houses. In Frankfurt he served as assistant to Sir George Solti.
From 1984 to 2002, Dohnányi served as the sixth music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. He made numerous highly regarded recordings with the orchestra, and furthered its reputation as one of the world’s most refined ensembles. After leaving Cleveland, he was principal conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.
Dohnányi’s conducting style emphasized substance over flashiness. In rehearsal, he gave a detailed exploration of the score. Clarity, balance, and the full arc of the piece were paramount.
In an interview he claimed that “the main goal of a conductor should be that he is not important any more — that the orchestra listens to each other, that the orchestra has a certain spirit which you try to convey to them while you’re rehearsing.”
Schumann: Complete Symphonies (Cleveland Orchestra)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester)
Live recording from the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, 28 September 2018:
Oh wow, I didn’t even know he was gone. What a great, long life though. One of my favorite conductors of one of my favorite orchestras (Cleveland).
His interpretation of Bruckner 7 remains a favorite as well. Which reminds me, I believe you owe us some more about that symphony!