Franz Welser-Möst facts for kids
Franz Welser-Möst is a famous conductor from Austria. He was born on August 16, 1960. A conductor is like the leader of an orchestra or opera. They guide the musicians to play together and create beautiful music. Currently, he is the music director for the Cleveland Orchestra in the United States.
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About Franz Welser-Möst
Early Life and Training
Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in a city called Linz, Austria. When he was young, he learned to play the violin. He also became very interested in leading orchestras. He studied music with a composer named Balduin Sulzer. After an accident, he stopped playing the violin. He then decided to focus completely on becoming a conductor.
In 1985, he started using the name Welser-Möst. This name was suggested by his mentor, Baron Andreas von Bennigsen. It was a way to honor the city of Wels where Franz grew up. He made his first big appearances at the Salzburg Festival in 1985. Soon after, he conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986.
Leading Orchestras and Operas
From 1986 to 1991, Welser-Möst was the main conductor for the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in Sweden. In 1990, he became the main conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO). His time with the LPO was sometimes challenging. He finished his work with them in 1996.
He then became the music director for the Zürich Opera House from 1995 to 2000. He returned to the Zürich Opera as general music director in 2005. He left this role in 2008. This was because he agreed to work at the Vienna State Opera. He first conducted at the Vienna State Opera in 1987. In 2007, he was officially named the general music director there. He started this role in September 2010. He later resigned from the Vienna State Opera in September 2014.
Welser-Möst has also conducted the famous Vienna New Year's Concert three times. He led this special concert in 2011, 2013, and 2023.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst first conducted in the United States in 1989. He led the St. Louis Symphony. In 1993, he was a guest conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra. In the 2002–03 season, he became the seventh music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. He is expected to continue in this role until the 2026–27 season.
During his time with the Cleveland Orchestra, he has led them on many tours. They have a regular stay at the Musikverein in Vienna. They also have an annual stay in Miami, Florida.
Under Welser-Möst, the orchestra started performing operas on stage regularly in 2009. This brought back a tradition from a previous conductor. These opera performances have included works by famous composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Claude Debussy. Some of these operas were Le nozze di Figaro, Salome, and Pelléas et Mélisande.
Recent Activities
In 2020, Welser-Möst published his autobiography. It was called Als ich die Stille fand in German. The English version, From Silence: Finding Calm in a Dissonant World, came out in 2021. In October 2023, he had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. He canceled his performances for the rest of that year to recover. In January 2024, the Cleveland Orchestra announced that he will conclude his time as music director at the end of the 2026-2027 season.
Music Recordings
Franz Welser-Möst has made many recordings of his performances. When he was with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, he had a special agreement with EMI. This company released many of his recordings. His 1996 recording of Franz Schmidt's Symphony No. 4 won a Gramophone Award. This award is for the best orchestral recording.
Some of his recordings have also been nominated for Grammy Awards. These include works by Anton Bruckner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Many of his opera performances from the Zürich Opera have been released on DVD.
In 2007, Deutsche Grammophon released his first recording with the Cleveland Orchestra. It was Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Other recordings with the Cleveland Orchestra include symphonies by Anton Bruckner. In 2020, Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra released a three-disc recording. It was called The Cleveland Orchestra: A New Century. This was the first recording on the orchestra's own music label.
See also
In Spanish: Franz Welser-Möst para niños
