Walter Weller

Walter Weller (born 30 November, 1939) is an Austrian conductor and violinist.

Biography

Weller was born in Vienna, Austria where he first gained renown as a prodigy on the violin. His father was a violinist in the Vienna Philharmonic, and at the age of 17, the young Weller became a member, and by the unusually early age of 22 he had become joint concertmaster with Willi Boskovsky. He remained in this post for 11 years.

While leading the orchestra, Weller also established and led his own string quartet from 1958 to 1969. ["Who’s Who", London: A & C Black]

Weller’s first engagements as a conductor were in 1966, deputising at short notice for Karl Böhm in Beethoven’s "Pastoral" and Franz Schubert’s "Great C Major" symphonies and Josef Krips Johannes Brahms’s "Piano Concerto No. 1" with Claudio Arrau and Beethoven’s "Eroica Symphony".

From 1969 Weller conducted regularly at the Vienna Volksoper and the Vienna State Opera.

After this he conducted in Duisburg, Germany. In 1977 he relocated to Great Britain to become principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. This was followed by stints with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 1980 to 1986 and from 1991 to 1996 the Scottish National Orchestra. The Bank of Scotland honoured Weller by printing his portrait on a special 50 pound note. As of the 2007-2008 season, Herr Walter is Music Director of the National Orchestra of Belgium. [http://www.nob.be/fr/artistes/Walter_Weller.html?o=2&n=7&b=&artiste=212]

Recordings

The Weller Quartet’s recordings for Decca Records included Haydn’s complete Op 33, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Alban Berg and Dmitri Shostakovich. Weller’s recording début as a conductor was with the Suisse Romande Orchestra, in Shostakovich’s "Symphony No. 1" and "Symphony No. 9". His Decca cycle of the Sergei Prokofiev symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra has remained available on LP and CD.

References

* "The Gramophone", February 1973

External links

*allmusic|41:60012
* [http://www.music.at/walter-weller/cv_d.html Walter Weller biography de icon]