David Robertson (conductor)

For other people named David Robertson, see David Robertson (disambiguation).

David Eric Robertson^[1] (born July 19, 1958) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Biography

Early life

Robertson was born and raised in Malibu, California, and grew up in a music-loving family. His father was a research scientist at Hughes Laboratory and his mother studied literature, but later had a career as a caterer.^[2] In grade school, he played French horn and violin, and first conducted at age 12.^[3] He later studied horn, composition, and conducting as a college student at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Career

After his college years, he began to receive conducting offers in Europe and performed often in both symphonic and operatic repertoire. His early career was also given a boost by speaking engagements contracted by the U.S. Information Agency in the Middle East and around the world on the subject of music.

In 1985, David Robertson was appointed resident conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Five years later, in October 1990, the Ensemble Intercontemporain of Paris named him Music Director. Although his appointment was initially newsworthy because Robertson was not a protégé of Pierre Boulez, the Ensemble benefited from his decade of leadership by performing more works of 'non-Boulezian' composers, such as John Adams, and by reinvigorating the Ensemble.

In 2000, Robertson was named the Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) and artistic director of Lyon's Auditorium, He was the first individual to serve simultaneously in both capacities and the first American conductor to be appointed to either position. He and the ONL toured the United States in 2003, with concerts in New York City, Seattle, Berkeley, and Los Angeles.^[4][5] He concluded his tenure in Lyon in 2004.

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

David Robertson's relationship with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) began in January 1999 when he made his first conducting appearance with the orchestra.^[6] Robertson's second appearance with the SLSO occurred in February 2002 at Carnegie Hall after the SLSO's then-music director Hans Vonk withdrew a few days before the concert due to health problems. Robertson agreed to substitute, and he and the orchestra had only one rehearsal before the concert, which received a favorable review from The New York Times.^[7] He later appeared with the SLSO in March 2003, and the SLSO named Robertson its next Music Director in December 2003, effective with the 2005-2006 season.

In April 2005, Robertson led the SLSO for the second time in a Carnegie Hall concert, after a labor dispute at the SLSO was resolved.^[8] Robertson conducted the SLSO in Carnegie Hall again in November 2005, March and April 2006, and March 2007.^[9] Robertson was one of Carnegie Hall's Perspectives artists for the 2005-2006 season, and he curated concerts with the SLSO and other performances with various guest artists and ensembles.

Robertson is generally regarded as having restored the SLSO's artistic prominence after the sudden resignation of the prior music director, Hans Vonk, and the orchestra's labor dispute in the winter of 2005.^[10] New concert series begun during his tenure include a group of contemporary music concerts with The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and a series of "Fusion Concerts" at the Touhill Performing Arts Center of the University of Missouri–St. Louis. In September 2006, the SLSO announced the extension of Robertson's contract through 2010, with a clause to allow for yearly renewal.^[11] As of November 2009, his SLSO contract is through the 2011-2012 season.^[12]

From the start of his tenure in St. Louis, speculation had been intense that both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the New York Philharmonic (NYP) were both trying to sign Robertson as their music director.^[13] The 2006 SLSO action momentarily ended the discussion relating to the Chicago position, at least through 2010, although there was renewed Chicago press speculation in 2007 that the CSO restored Robertson to its list of candidates.^[14][15] This speculation ended with the naming of Riccardo Muti as the CSO's next music director in April 2008.^[16] In 2007, press reports said that the New York Philharmonic was still considering signing Robertson as its next music director,^[17][18] which ended with the July 2007 naming of Alan Gilbert to that post.^[19]

Other conducting work

In February 2005, Robertson was named the Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO)^[20] and he assumed that post later in the year, in parallel with the beginning of his St. Louis tenure. His Principal Guest Conductorship with the BBC Symphony Orchestra has since been extended through 2011. On September 12, 2009, Robertson became the second American conductor and the first standing BBC SO principal guest conductor to conduct the Last Night of the Proms.^[21]

In addition to the New York Philharmonic, Robertson continues to be a regular guest conductor with other major American orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times lauded Robertson's concerts with the New York Philharmonic.^[22] He served as Festival Director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's January 2008 Concrete Frequency Festival, as well as Music Director of the 2008 Ojai Music Festival in Ojai, California.

Alongside his work in contemporary and symphonic music, Robertson is also much admired and sought-after as a conductor of opera. He opened the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, Italy, in the summer of 1994. In 1996, he conducted a production of Janáček's Věc Makropulos at the Metropolitan Opera which featured Jessye Norman. Robertson made his next conducting appearance there in April and May 2008 with performances of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.^[23]

Robertson has recorded for the Sony Classical, harmonia mundi, Naive, EMI/Virgin Classics, Atlantic/Erato, Nuema, Ades Valois, Naxos and Nonesuch labels, featuring the music of such composers as Adams, Bartók, Boulez, Carter, Dusapin, Dvorák, Ginastera, Lalo, Manoury, Milhaud, Reich, Saint-Saëns, and Silvestrov.

Personal life

Robertson has a loft in downtown St. Louis, and also residences in New York City, London and Paris. As of 2005, he is married to his third wife, pianist Orli Shaham,^[24] the sister of violinist Gil Shaham, with whom he has often appeared - including a performance at The Proms in August 2010. Robertson and Shaham first met at a January 1999 SLSO concert, when she made her SLSO debut as guest pianist. They married on January 3, 2003.^[25] She is mother to their two youngest sons, twin boys Nathan Glenn and Alex Jacob, born September 15, 2007.^[26] Robertson has two sons from his second marriage, Peter and Jonathan. The family make their home in New York City.

Honours and awards

Robertson received the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award in 1997. In December 1999, Musical America named David Robertson Conductor of the Year. Robertson received the 2006 Ditson Conductor's Award from Columbia University for his championing of American music. In April 2010, Robertson was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[27] On May 15, 2010, Robertson received the degree Doctor of Music honoris causa from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.

References

1. ^ "American Academy of Arts and Sciences: 2010 Fellows and Their Affiliations at the Time of Their Election" (Press release). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 19 April 2010. http://www.amacad.org/news/a2z10.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-02. 
2. ^ Porter Anderson (25 April 2001). "David Robertson: Career chromatics". CNN. http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/trends/04/25/david.robertson. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
3. ^ Peter Marks (26 November 2001). "Rapport at the End of a Baton". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E7D8103AF935A15752C1A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-04-20. 
4. ^ Anthony Tommasini (27 January 2003). "For Adventure, Try Boulez and Stay Till the End". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E3D91539F934A15752C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
5. ^ George Thomson (31 January 2003). "Newer Music, Old Europe". San Francisco Classical Voice. http://www.sfcv.org/arts_revs/orchestrelyon2_2_4_03.php. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
6. ^ Sarah Bryan Miller (22 January 2007). "Risky program works beautifully for Symphony". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/concert/story/A393AAAF2AB08CDD8625726B001BC47E?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
7. ^ Anthony Tommasini (11 February 2002). "Music Review: Sly Wit for a Modernist, Clarity for Impressionists". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E6DF103CF932A25751C0A9649C8B63. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
8. ^ Anthony Tommasini (18 April 2005). "Labor Bitterness Plays Second Fiddle to Artistry". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/arts/music/18loui.html?ex=1168146000&en=041d8ba28ff8feba&ei=5070. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
9. ^ Bernard Holland (2 April 2007). "Tick, Tock, or Maybe Tock, Tick". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/arts/music/02robe.html. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
10. ^ Cheryl Wittenauer, "Music director Robertson hits the right notes in St. Louis". Associated Press, May 2006.
11. ^ "Music Director David Robertson's Contract Extended Through 2010" (Press release). Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. 14 September 2006. http://www.slso.org/update/announce091406.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
12. ^ David Mermelstein (2009-11-04). "The Conductor Reflects". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703932904574511772541229290.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_lifestyle#articleTabs%3Darticle. Retrieved 2009-11-25. 
13. ^ Mark Swed, "Urbane Renewal". Los Angeles Times, November 13, 2005 (original LA Times link no longer accessible on line; this link is through the Symphony's web page).
14. ^ John von Rhein, "Robertson tapped into spirit of St. Louis". Chicago Tribune, 17 September 2006.
15. ^ John von Rhein, "CSO conductor contest narrows". Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2007.
16. ^ Daniel J. Wakin (6 May 2008). "And the Brass Ring Goes to Chicago Symphony: Riccardo Muti Says Yes". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/arts/music/06muti.html?ref=arts%26pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 
17. ^ Fred Kirshnit, "Good Raw Material Results in a Mess". New York Sun, 25 January 2007.
18. ^ George Loomis, "An Answer to the Conductor Crisis". New York Sun, 30 March 2007.
19. ^ Daniel J. Wakin (18 July 2007). "The Philharmonic Picks New Music Director". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/arts/music/18phil.html. Retrieved 2007-07-19. 
20. ^ Geoffrey Norris (2 February 2005). "'I'm here to raise the standard'". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/02/02/bmjiri02.xml. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 
21. ^ "Prom 76: Last Night of the Proms". BBC. 9 April 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/whatson/1209.shtml. Retrieved 9 April 2009. 
22. ^ Anthony Tommasini, "Conductor Makes the Old New and the New Newer". New York Times, 27 November 2004.
23. ^ Vivien Schweitzer (28 April 2008). "Pasha & Co. in Mozart's Singspiel". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/arts/music/28moza.html. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 
24. ^ Jeannette Batz Cooperman (September 2005). "Brilliant Overtures". St. Louis Magazine. http://www.stlmag.com/media/St-Louis-Magazine/September-2005/Brilliant-Overtures. Retrieved 2007-09-04. 
25. ^ Arthur Lubow (19 January 2003). "21st-Century Conductor". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6DD1531F93AA25752C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-04-20. 
26. ^ "Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's Music Director, David Robertson, and Wife Have Twin Boys" (Press release). Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. 17 September 2007. http://www.slso.org/update/09-18-2007.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-19. 
27. ^ "New American Academy Announces 2010 Class of Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members" (Press release). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 19 April 2010. http://www.amacad.org/news/new2010.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-02. 

External links

• David Robertson biography at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
• Wakin, Daniel. "Unprompted, Lorin Maazel Nominates His Successor". New York Times, November 29, 2006.
• Tommasini, Anthony. "Under a Baton in a Younger Hand". New York Times, November 28 2003.
• Alex Ross, "The Evangelist". The New Yorker, December 2005
• Los Angeles Philharmonic's "Concrete Frequency" festival
• Videos of David Robertson talking about the Los Angeles Philharmonic's "Concrete Freque[ncy" festival
  • An overview of the festival
  • The first program (Concrete Frequency I)
  • The second program (Concrete Frequency II)
  • The third program (Concrete Frequency III)

Preceded by Emmanuel Krivine

Music Director, Orchestre National de Lyon 2000-2004

Succeeded by Jun Märkl

Persondata
Name	Robertson, David
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Date of birth	19 July 1958
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Date of death
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