Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

. Armin Jordan was born in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, Switzerland. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a full mouth, often twisted in a sardonic smile, and his powerful physical presence belied the careful near-understatement of his conducting", noted ''The New York Times'' in his

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

. Jordan was most unusual at a time when conductors flew about the world from one engagement to another. For the most part he stayed close to home in Switzerland and France. After leading a number of Swiss orchestras he became principal conductor of the

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History ...

, Geneva, in 1985, a position he held until 1997. Armin Jordan did not conduct in the United States until 1985. He appeared in Seattle and New York City. Seattle scheduled him for Wagner's ''

Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

'' in 2000 and 2001, but he had to withdraw after a few performances in 2000 because of illness. For the same reason, he canceled his debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

in New York in 2001. He was to have conducted Mozart's ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

''. His son, the conductor Philippe Jordan, made his own debut at the Met in 2002. Armin Jordan died in Zürich five days after he collapsed while conducting Prokofiev's ''

The Love for Three Oranges ', Op. 33, is a 1921 satirical French-language opera by Sergei Prokofiev. He wrote his own libretto, basing it on the Italian play '' L'amore delle tre melarance'', or ''The Love for Three Oranges'' ( ''Lyubov k tryom apyelsinam'') by Carlo Goz ...

'' at the Theater Basel. In addition to Philippe, his survivors are his widow Kate and his daughter Pascale.

Selected discography

* Ernest Chausson: Symphony, Op. 20; ''Viviane'', Op. 5, Basel Symphony Orchestra. Erato/Warner B000F4ASUS. *

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

: '' Le Chasseur maudit'', '' Les Éolides'', ''Psyché'', Basel Symphony Orchestra. Erato ECD 88167. *

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie Espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that re ...

: ''Le Roi d'Ys'', with Eduardo Villa, Philippe Bohee, Delores Ziegler, Jean-Philippe Courtis, Michel Piquemal, Barbara Hendricks, and Marcel Vanaud; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Erato/Warner B00000E8RK. *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

: Symphony No. 4, with Edith Wiens,

. Erato/Warner B00000E8U7. *Francis Poulenc's '' La Voix humaine''; ''La Dame de Monte-Carlo''. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande with soprano

Felicity Lott Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...

. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901759 *Sergei Prokofiev: ''Romeo and Juliet'' (three suites), Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Erato/Warner B000005E8O. *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

: Piano Concertos, with

Anne Queffélec Anne Queffélec (born 17 January 1948) is a French classical pianist, born in Paris. Biography Anne Queffélec is the daughter of Henri Queffélec and sister of Yann Queffélec, both noted writers. Her brother Hervé Queffélec is a mathema ...

; Orchestre de l'opéra de Monte Carlo. Erato/Warner Classics B000054285. *Maurice Ravel's '' L'enfant et les sortilèges'', Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Erato/Warner Classics B00004VLSY. *Emmanuel Chabrier works for orchestra - España,

Suite Pastorale Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** Suite (Pe ...

, '' Gwendoline'' overture, Bourrée Fantasque, Danse Slave, Joyeuse marche; Orchestre National de France (Erato) *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

: The Four Symphonies.

. Erato/Warner B000009ILZ. *Robert Schumann's '' Das Paradies und die Peri'', with Christoph Prégardien, Robert Gambill, Edith Wiens, Anne Gjevang, Sylvia Herman, & Hans-Peter Scheidegger; Romand Chamber Choir, Pro Arte Chorus of Lausanne; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Erato 2292-45456-2. *Johann Strauss, Jr.'s Der Zigeunerbaron. Performed by Rudolf Wasserlof, Zoran Todorovic, Martin Homrich, Jeannette Fischer, Béla Perencz, Hanna Schaer, Ewa Wolak, Paul Kong, Luc Héry, Natalia Ushakova and the French National Radio Orchestra and Chorus. Naive 5002. *

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

: ''Parsifal'', Reiner Goldberg, Yvonne Minton, Robert Lloyd, Wolfgang Schöne, Aage Haugland Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Prague Philharmonic Chorus. Erato 2292-45662-2 (used for the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (; born 8 December 1935) is a German film director, whose best known film is his lengthy feature ''Hitler: A Film from Germany''. Early life Born in Nossendorf, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania, the son of ...

) *Paul Dukas' ''

Ariane et Barbe-Bleue ''Ariane et Barbe-bleue'' (, ''Ariadne and Bluebeard'') is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. The French libretto is adapted (with very few changes) from the symbolist play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck, itself loosely based on the ...

'',

Katherine Ciesinski Katherine Ciesinski (born October 13, 1950) is an American mezzo-soprano, stage director, and voice professor. Ciesinski was born to Delaware Sports Hall of Famer Roman Ciesinski and Katherine Hansen Ciesinski. She is the sister of opera singe ...

, Mariana Paunova, Gabriel Bacquier, Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Erato - LP 1983, CD 1991 * Haydn: Insert arias and Cantata « Miseri Noi, Misera Patria » - with

Edith Mathis Edith Mathis (; 11 February 19389 February 2025) was a Swiss soprano known for her roles in List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart's operas. Early in her career, Cherubino in ''Le nozze di Figaro'' was her signature role that she perf ...

, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (Philips)

References

*
"Seattle and the New Ring" (Interview with Armin Jordan, Francois Rochaix, and Robert Israel)
by Bruce Duffie, Wagner News, Summer, 1986 * 1932 births 2006 deaths Swiss male conductors (music) People from Lucerne 20th-century Swiss conductors (music) 20th-century Swiss male musicians Knights of the Legion of Honour Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Erato Records artists Music directors of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande {{Switzerland-conductor-stub