János Fürst

János Fürst (born August 8, 1935, Budapest; died January 3, 2007, Paris) was a Hungarian-born conductor.

Biography

János Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest and then at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was awarded a "Premier Prix". For a decade he served as a violinist and orchestra leader.

In 1963 he took up a full-time conducting career, founding the Irish Chamber Orchestra. He was the inaugural concertmaster of the Ulster Orchestra upon its formation in 1966. He held positions as Chief Conductor and Music Director in London, Malmö, Aalborg, Dublin, Marseilles, Winterthur and was Chief Guest Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Besides conducting a number of famous European orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, he was known for his work with leading orchestras in Israel, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Fürst was music director of Marseilles Opera for nine years and a frequent guest at English National Opera, Scottish Opera and the Royal Stockholm Opera. In 1978 he conducted the premiere of "Salome" by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and subsequently recorded it. He also made numerous recordings for Vox Records with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, including some rarely-heard orchestral music of Tchaikovsky released in the mid-1970s; some of the recordings have been reissued on CD.

Fürst was known as a fine teacher. A number of his students at the Paris Conservatoire won prestigious conducting competitions. He worked with youth orchestras including the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Late in life he was invited to become head of orchestral conducting at Royal College of Music in London. Fürst died of cancer.

External links

* [http://www.philharmonie.com/janos%20fuerst.htm Biography]
* [http://www.gramophone.co.uk/obituaries_detail.asp?id=2735 Obituary in Gramophone]