- Jeffrey Kahane
Jeffrey Alan Kahane (born September 12, 1956 -
Los Angeles ,California ,USA ) is an Americanclassical music pianist andconductor . He is currently Music Director of theLos Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Music Director of theColorado Symphony Orchestra , and Conductor Laureate of theSanta Rosa Symphony .Personal history
Kahane grew up in
West Los Angeles , and began studying piano at age five, and at age 10 began learning to play the guitar. For the next few years, he split his time between his piano studies and playing folk androck music on the guitar. At age 14, he was accepted as a scholarship pupil by the Polish-born pianistJakob Gimpel . "I was completely transformed by the contact with him," Kahane said. "There was something that I got fromBrahms andBeethoven andBach that I couldn't live without. And I wanted to make a contribution to keeping it vital and alive."cite news|title=Citizen Kahane: Santa Rosa Symphony's Jeffrey Kahane has the world on a string|url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/03.14.96/music-9611.html|work=The Sonoma County Independent|date=1996-03-14|accessdate=2008-07-05] cite web|url=http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=246&c=2|work=IMG Artists website|title=Jeffrey Kahane, Conductor, Full Biography|accessdate=2008-07-05]After his sophomore year of high school, Kahane entered the
San Francisco Conservatory of Music . He studied piano and conducting, and graduated in 1977. While in San Francisco, he played keyboard instruments in theSan Francisco Symphony , exploredjazz , and played in the pit for a touring Broadway musical.cite web|url=http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Kahane-Jeffrey.htm|title=Jeffrey Kahane (Piano, Harpsichord, Conductor)|accessdate=2008-07-05]Kahane and his wife, Martha, a
clinical psychologist in private practice and an avid choral singer, currently divide their time between their homes inDenver ,Colorado , and Santa Rosa, California. They have two children, Gabriel, age 26, who is a composer, pianist and singer living in Brooklyn, and Annie, 19, currently a sophomore atNorthwestern University .Piano performance career
At the age of 24, Kahane entered the 1981
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition . He made it into the final round, and won fourth place. While his finish was noteworthy on its own, Kahane received additional exposure because the finals were broadcast onPBS . In addition to playing fine performances, he had an enthusiasm for the music and telegenic qualities. "I was amazed just to get in," Kahane said. "By the end, I was in an altered state. It really changed my life." Two years later, he won the Grand Prize in theArthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition inIsrael .Kahane made his
Carnegie Hall debut in New York in 1983 at anArthur Rubinstein Tribute Concert, and his London debut in 1985. In 1983 he won anAvery Fisher Career Grant, and in 1987 the first Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. He has made numerous solo appearances in recital and with major orchestras around the world, includingNew York Philharmonic ,Cleveland Orchestra ,Los Angeles Philharmonic ,Philadelphia Orchestra ,San Francisco Symphony ,Rotterdam Philharmonic ,Israel Philharmonic and theLeipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra , among many others. In addition, he has become a favored recital accompanist forYo-Yo Ma ,Dawn Upshaw ,Joshua Bell , andThomas Quasthoff , and he often appears with leading chamber ensembles such as theEmerson String Quartet . cite web|url=http://www.santarosasymphony.com/About_Jeffrey_Kahane.asp|title=About Jeffrey Kahane|work=Santa Rosa Symphony website|accessdate=2008-07-05]In the summer of 2003, he gave highly-acclaimed performances of all five
Beethoven piano concertos with theLos Angeles Chamber Orchestra over two consecutive nights at theHollywood Bowl ; he repeated the feat atRavinia with theChicago Symphony in the summer of 2004. In 2005-2006 season, he performed all 23 of the originalMozart piano concertos as part of theLos Angeles Chamber Orchestra ’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.Conducting career
Kahane made his conducting debut at the
Oregon Bach Festival in 1988, conducting aMozart concerto from the keyboard. He has often returned to the festival as both pianist and conductor.In 1991, Kahane co-founded the
Gardner Chamber Orchestra at theIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum , an ensemble of outstanding students and recent graduates of the major schools of music in the Boston area, and served as Artistic Director and Conductor from 1991-1995.anta Rosa Symphony
In 1995, he was named Music Director of the
Santa Rosa Symphony . He held the post until the end of the 2005-2006 season, after which he was given the title of Conductor Laureate.Under Kahane's leadership, the subscriber based increased almost two-fold and artistic standards improved. "My tenure with the Santa Rosa Symphony has been the most fulfilling and exciting years of my musical life," Kahane said. "As I move forward, I know that nothing I ever do will mean more to me than the privilege of working with these amazing and dedicated musicians and making music with them for this exceptionally passionate and committed audience." [cite news|work=San Francisco Chronicle|accessdate=2004-05-07|title=MARIN SONOMA NAPA FRIDAY; Pg. F3; COMMUNITY NOTES|first=Dave|last=Murphy]
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Since 1997, he has been Music Director of the
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , succeedingIona Brown who was serving as the orchestra's Principal Conductor afterChristof Perick departed as Music Director in 1994.cite news|first=Chris|last=Pasles|title=It turns out it's a player after all|work=Los Angeles Times|date=2005-09-25]Kahane's tenure with the orchestra has been very well regarded, and he is credited with raising the orchestra's morale on the heels of emerging from bankruptcy in the mid-1990's while simultaneously maintaining the orchestra's high artistic standards and re-establishing a higher profile. David Mermelstein described it this way in "Los Angeles Magazine":
Kahane's taste in new music doesn't appeal to everyone. Some critics find his idea of "modern" too conservative, and LACO's older subscribers have been known to grumble about even "safe" choices. Of course, pleasing everyone all the time isn't music making; it's pandering. On balance, Kahane does a laudable job of giving concert goers a healthy mix of the familiar and the slightly daring. His ability to land major soloists, however, is beyond reproach. Such celebrated performers as
Hilary Hahn ,Thomas Quasthoff ,Lang Lang ,Lorraine Hunt Lieberson , and Daniel Hope have appeared with LACO in recent years, and next season promises first appearances byCho-Liang Lin andPeter Serkin .
But Kahane's achievement at LACO has nothing to do with enriching the musical canon or lassoing big names. It is instead the story of a modest musician who through patience and perhaps a little guile restored dignity to a group of dispirited players. He made them feel their music making mattered, and now others do, too. "We're certainly not the only place in America where musicians are happy," says the conductor, "but the combination of that attitude with this level of playing is very rare." [cite news|first=David|last=Mermelstein|work=Los Angeles Magazine|title=The lightning conductor: why the L.A. Chamber Orchestra is again turning heads; expansion after bankruptcy|date=May 1, 2006]In 2008, his contract with the orchestra was extended through the 2011-12 season. [cite news|first=Chris|last=Pasles|title=Kahane extends contract|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/28/entertainment/et-laco28|work=Los Angeles Times|date=2008-03-28]
Colorado Symphony
In 2004, Kahane was announced as Music Director Designate of the
Colorado Symphony Orchestra , subsequently taking over as Music Director in 2005. His initial contract was for three years.cite news|first=Kyle|last=MacMillan|title=Kahane takes baton for 'very special' CSO|work=The Denver Post|date=2004-04-27] "The Denver Post " described his a tenure as one "that has been marked by increased audiences and an uncommonly strong bond with the orchestra's musicians."cite news|title=CSO music director Kahane's tenure is taking an early bow|first=Kyle|last=MacMillan|work=The Denver Post|url=http://www.denverpost.com/music/ci_9833587|accessdate=2008-07-10]In 2008, Kahane extended his Colorado Symphony contract through 2012. However, in July 2008, Kahane announced his resignation from the orchestra at the end of the 2009-2010 season. Kahane cited a case of severe hypertension in 2007, which caused him to cancel several weeks of concerts in both Colorado and Los Angeles, as the primary catalyst in his decision to concentrate more on his solo piano career:
"I had a real scare. That forced me to really stop and take a look at my life and say, 'You know what? You can't do everything.' I don't think I underestimated the job. I think I overestimated myself, not in my abilities but just being in a body and turning 50."
Guest Conducting
He has been a guest conductor with many prominent orchestras, including
Los Angeles Philharmonic ,New York Philharmonic ,Philadelphia Orchestra ,Chicago Symphony , theMinnesota Orchestra , theSan Francisco Symphony ,St. Louis Symphony ,Toronto Symphony ,Detroit Symphony ,Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra , and theAcademy of St. Martin in the Fields , among many others.Educational activities
Jeffrey Kahane founded the
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra ’s Family Concert series, and he is personally involved in LACO’s Meet the Music program, which serves approximately 2,700 Los Angeles elementary students annually."The thing I myself am most proud of," Kahane said in 2004, "is that in the nine years that I've been music director between the two orchestras [LACO and Santa Rosa] , with two exceptions, I have conducted every single children's concert, youth concert, family concert and neighborhood concert that either of those two orchestras has done."
Awards and recognition
*Fourth Place:
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition , 1981*Grand Prize:
Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition , 1983*
Avery Fisher Career Grant, 1983*The first Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, 1987
*In 2002, Kahane received one of the first MetLife Awards for Excellence in Community Engagement from the League of American Orchestras (formerly known as the American Symphony Orchestra League) for educational projects undertaken with the
Santa Rosa Symphony .*Honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts by
Sonoma State University in 2005.*Under Kahane's leadership, both the
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra andColorado Symphony Orchestra received 2007ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. It was the third time in four years that LACO had received the award.Recordings
*
Bach : Concerto for violin, strings & continuo No. 2 in E major, BWV 1042,Hilary Hahn (violin),Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Jeffrey Kahane (conductor); Deutsche Grammophon*
Bach : Concerto for 2 violins, strings & continuo in D minor ("Double"), BWV 1043,Hilary Hahn (violin),Margaret Batjer (violin),Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Jeffrey Kahane (conductor); Deutsche Grammophon
*Bach : Concerto for violin, strings & continuo No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041,Hilary Hahn (violin),Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Jeffrey Kahane (conductor); Deutsche Grammophon*
Bach : Concerto for oboe & violin (or 2 violins), strings & continuo in D minor (reconstruction), BWV 1060R,Hilary Hahn (violin),Allan Vogel (oboe),Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Jeffrey Kahane (conductor); Deutsche Grammophon*
Bach : Partita for Keyboard No. 4 in D, BWV828, Jeffrey Kahane (piano); Nonesuch*
Bach : Three-part Inventions (Sinfonia) for Keyboard BWV787-801, Jeffrey Kahane (piano); Nonesuch*
Bach :Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6, BWV 1046-1051, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra,Helmuth Rilling (conductor), Jeffrey Kahane (harpsichord); Hänssler Verlag*
Bach : Harpsichord Concertos, BWV 1060-1062, 1061a, Jeffrey Kahane (harpsichord ),Robert Levin (harpsichord), Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra,Helmuth Rilling (conductor); Hänssler Verlag*
Bernstein : Sonata for clarinet & piano,Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Jeffrey Kahane (piano); Sony Classical*
Bernstein : Symphony No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, "Age of Anxiety", Jeffrey Kahane (piano),Bournemouth Symphony ,Andrew Litton (conductor); Virgin/EMI Classics*
Gershwin : Preludes (3) for Piano,Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Jeffrey Kahane (piano); Sony Classical*Rorem: "From an Unknown Past",
Brian Asawa (counter-tenor ),Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Jeffrey Kahane (conductor); BMG/RCA Victor Red Seal*Rorem: "More Than a Day", song cycle for
counter-tenor and orchestra,Brian Asawa (counter-tenor ),Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Jeffrey Kahane (conductor); BMG/RCA Victor Red Seal*Rorem: "Water Music", for violin, clarinet & orchestra,
Margaret Batjer (violin),Gary Grey (clarinet),Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra , Jeffrey Kahane (conductor); BMG/RCA Victor Red Seal*Schoenfield: "Four Parables" for Piano & Orschestra, Jeffrey Kahane (piano),
New World Symphony ,John Nelson (conductor) ; Argo/Decca*
Schubert : Complete Works for Violin and Piano,Joseph Swensen (violin), Jeffrey Kahane (piano); BMG/RCA Victor Red Seal*
Strauss : Burleske in D minor, Jeffrey Kahane (piano),Eugene Espino (piano),Cincinnati Symphony ,Jesus Lopez-Cobos (conductor); TelarcReferences
External links
* [http://www.laco.org/artists/1/ Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: Jeffrey Kahane, Music Director]
* [http://www.coloradosymphony.org/information/default.asp?NavPageID=30340#i_92377 Colorado Symphony: Music Director Jeffrey Kahane]
* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=185 Jeffrey Kahane pianist information] atIMG Artists
* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=246 Jeffrey Kahane conductor information] atIMG Artists
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