Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi gained renown as one of the world's most versatile conductors in the last decades of the twentieth century and beyond, earning particular distinction for his interpretations of Romantic music and that of the Second Viennese School. The grandson of the well-known Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960), Dohnányi studied the piano in his youth. Both his personal life and his musical education were disrupted by World War II; his father and his uncle, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, were executed by the Nazis for their complicity in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
After the war, Dohnányi studied law at the University of Munich and entered the Munich Musikhochschule in 1948, taking the institution's top prize in composition and conducting within a few years. He traveled to the United States to study music with his grandfather, who had emigrated to Florida in 1949 and was the composer-in-residence at Florida State University in Tallahassee. In a rite of passage for conductors of his generation, Dohnányi also made the pilgrimage to the Tanglewood Music Center to study conducting with Leonard Bernstein.
He returned to Germany and in 1952 assumed posts at the Frankfurt Opera, then under the leadership of Georg Solti. His career continued apace with posts as Generalmusikdirektor in Lübeck (1957-1963) and Kassel (1963-1969), chief conductor of the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (1964-1969), director of the Frankfurt Opera (1968-1977), and Intendent and Principal Conductor of the Hamburg State Opera (1978-1984). Highlights of his career to that point include conducting the world premieres of two of Henze's operas, Der Junge Lord in 1965 and Die Bassariden in 1966. A full schedule of guest engagements included concerts with the great orchestras of Europe and operas at Covent Garden, La Scala, the Metropolitan in New York, and elsewhere.
In 1984 he assumed his most influential post, as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. With that ensemble, Dohnányi produced a diverse, well-received body of recordings ranging from the music of Mozart and Schubert to that of Ives, Varése, and Lutoslawski. He further honed and maintained the orchestra's razor-sharp sense of ensemble and infused its overall sound with a distinctive warmth. He was succeeded as music director by Franz Welser-Möst in 2002.
Dohnányi was principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London from 1997 to 2008. He has received numerous honors, including the commander's Cross of the Republic of Austria, Germany's Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit, and the Bartók Prize of Hungary. In 2004 Dohnányi became chief conductor of the NDR Symphony in Hamburg, a post he held until 2010.
© TiVo
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Discography
86 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Glass: Heroes Symphony
Gidon Kremer, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jul 2014
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Glass: Violin Concerto / Rorem: Violin Concerto (1984) / Bernstein: Serenade After Plato's "Symposium" (1954) For Solo Violin, String Orchestra, Harp And Percussion
Gidon Kremer, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1979
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 / Schoenberg: 5 Orchesterstücke / Webern: Im Sommerwind
Christoph von Dohnányi, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Dec 1992
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Dvorák: Piano Concerto / Schumann: Introduction & Allegro Appassionato
András Schiff, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1986
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39, BV 247
Christoph von Dohnányi, Garrick Ohlsson, The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Sep 1989
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Strauss, Richard: The Tone Poems
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christoph von Dohnányi, Antal Doráti, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2002
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Ives: Symphonies Nos 1-4; Orchestral Sets Nos.1-2 (2 CDs)
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner, The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Symphonies - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2000
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Smetana: Má Vlast; Overtures; Dances
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Antal Doráti, The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2012
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56, MWV N 18 "Scottish" & Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60, MWV D 3
Christoph von Dohnányi, The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Oct 1988
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No.9
The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1999
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Wagner: Die Walküre
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jul 1997
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Dvorák: Symphony No. 8; Scherzo capriccioso
Christoph von Dohnányi, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1986
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Schoenberg: Erwartung / Berg: Lulu Suite
Anja Silja, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1979
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1985
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique / Weber: Invitation To The Dance
Christoph von Dohnányi, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1990
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Birtwistle: Panic / Earth Dances
John Harle, Paul Clarvis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis, The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1996
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Berg: Wozzeck
Anja Silja, Eberhard Wächter, Hermann Winkler, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1989
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, TH 30 "Pathétique" & Polonaise from Eugen Onegin, Op. 24, TH 5
Christoph von Dohnányi, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Apr 1987
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Mendelssohn: The Symphonies; Overtures
Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1996
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Bassoon Concerto
Franklin Cohen, John Mack, David McGill, The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1995
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8
Christoph von Dohnányi, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Apr 1996
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo