David Robertson (conductor)
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David Eric Robertson (born July 19, 1958) is an American conductor. He was chief conductor of the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...
, and was formerly
music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...
of the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...
from 2005 until 2018. He is Director of Orchestral Studies at
Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...
.


Biography


Early life

Robertson was born and raised in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
, 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 baker. In grade school, he played French horn and violin, and first conducted at age 12. He later studied horn, composition, and conducting as a college student at the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.


Career

After his college years, Robertson began to receive conducting offers in Europe and performed often in both symphonic and operatic repertoire. His early career lectured under the rubric of the
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in the Middle East and around the world on the subject of music. In 1985, Robertson was appointed resident conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. From 1992 to 2000, Robertson was music director of the Paris-based Ensemble Intercontemporain (EIC), the first American to hold the post. He broadened the EIC's repertoire to include works by composers such as
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
. In 2000, Robertson was named the Music Director of the
Orchestre National de Lyon The Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) is a French orchestra based in Lyon. Its primary concert venue is the Maurice Ravel Auditorium. The orchestra operates with the help of a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture (France), French Ministry of Cult ...
(ONL) and artistic director of
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
's Auditorium. He was the first individual to serve simultaneously in both capacities and the first American to be appointed to either position. He and the ONL toured the United States in 2003, with concerts in New York City,
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
,
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, and Los Angeles. He concluded his tenure in Lyon in 2004.


St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Robertson's relationship with the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...
(SLSO) began in January 1999 when he made his first conducting appearance with the orchestra. Robertson's second appearance with the SLSO occurred in February 2002 at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
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. He later appeared with the SLSO in March 2003. 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. Robertson conducted the SLSO in Carnegie Hall again in November 2005, March and April 2006, and March 2007. 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. New concert series begun during his tenure include a group of contemporary music concerts with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and a series of "Fusion Concerts" at the Touhill Performing Arts Center of the
University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a Public university, public research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Established in 1963, it is the newest of the four universities in the University of Missouri System. Located ...
. In September 2006, the SLSO announced the extension of Robertson's contract through 2010, with a clause to allow for yearly renewal. As of November 2009, his SLSO contract was through the 2011-2012 season. Following a subsequent contract renewal through 2014, his SLSO contract was extended, in January 2013, through the 2015-2016 season.c In March 2014, the orchestra and Robertson announced a further extension of his SLSO contract through the 2017-2018 season. In December 2016, the SLSO and Robertson jointly announced an additional one-year extension of his contract through the 2018-2019 season, which was the intended time for the close of his SLSO tenure. However, in June 2017, the orchestra noted an update to Robertson's contract, with a newly scheduled conclusion of his music directorship at the close of the 2017-2018 season, in a reversion of the December 2016 situation. Robertson stood down as SLSO music director in 2018. During Robertson's tenure, the SLSO made its first-ever appearance at
The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...
in September 2012. With the SLSO, Robertson has conducted several commercial recordings of music of
John Adams (composer) John Coolidge Adams (born February 15, 1947) is an American composer and conductor. Among the most regularly performed composers of contemporary classical music, he is particularly noted for his operas, many of which center around historical e ...
for the Nonesuch label. These works include: * '' Guide to Strange Places'', '' Doctor Atomic Symphony'' (revised version) * ''City Noir'', Saxophone Concerto * '' Scheherazade.2''


Other conducting work

In February 2005, Robertson was named the principal guest conductor of the
BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...
(BBC SO) and he assumed that post later in the year, in parallel with the beginning of his St. Louis tenure. 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. He concluded his tenure as the BBC SO's principal guest conductor in August 2012. Robertson first guest-conducted the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...
in 2003. In 2014, he became the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's chief conductor and artistic adviser. He concluded his tenure in Sydney in December 2019, following a one-year extension of his contract announced in July 2017. Robertson's other work in contemporary music has included serving as Festival Director for the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
's January 2008 ''Concrete Frequency'' Festival, as well as Music Director of the 2008
Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...
in Ojai, California. His work in opera has included several appearances 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 ...
, including Janáček's ''The Makropulos Affair'' (1996),
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 ...
's ''
Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...
'' (2008), Britten's ''
Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'', also known as ''Billy Budd, Foretopman'', is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed vers ...
'' (2012). and Mozart's ''
The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...
'' in 2012. Robertson also conducted the first production of ''
The Death of Klinghoffer ''The Death of Klinghoffer'' is an American opera, with music by John Adams to an English-language libretto by Alice Goodman. First produced in Brussels and New York in 1991, the opera is based on the hijacking of the passenger liner ''Achille ...
'' at the Metropolitan Opera in October 2014. In February 2018, the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
announced the appointment of Robertson as its next director of conducting studies, effective with the 2018-2019 academic year. Robertson first guest-conducted the
Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...
in October 2020. He returned for an additional guest-conducting engagement with the Utah Symphony in December 2021. In December 2022, the Utah Symphony announced the appointment of Robertson as its first-ever creative partner, effective with the 2023-2024 season, with a contract of 3 years. 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 been married three times, and divorced just once. His third wife is pianist Orli Shaham, the sister of violinist Gil Shaham. Robertson and Shaham first met at a January 1999 SLSO concert, which was the SLSO debut for both of them. They married on January 3, 2003. She is mother to their twin boys, Nathan Glenn, and Alex Jacob, born September 15, 2007. The family makes its home in New York City. Robertson has two grown sons, Peter and Jonathan, from his second marriage to the German writer Ane Dahm.


Honors 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 The Ditson Conductor's Award, established in 1945, is the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to the performance of American music. The US$5,000 purse is endowed by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University, increased in ...
from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
for his championing of American music. In April 2010, Robertson was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. On May 15, 2010, Robertson received the degree Doctor of Music honoris causa from
Westminster Choir College Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music, currently operating on the campus of Rider University, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's College of Arts and Sciences (the college under which the historic institution has ...
in Princeton, New Jersey. In October 2011, Robertson was named a ''
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
'' by the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
of France. His recording of John Adams' 'City Noir' won a Grammy. His recording of
Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...
also won a Grammy, and his recording of John Adams' Scheherazade.2 was nominated for a Grammy, and he has had two other Grammy nominations. Along with Diana Doherty,
Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...
, Nigel Westlake and Synergy Vocals, Robertson was nominated for the 2019
ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...
for Best Classical Album for the album ''Nigel Westlake: Spirit of the Wild / Steve Reich: The Desert Music''. The album is a recording of Nigel Westlake’s ''Spirit of the Wild'' and of
Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...
’s '' The Desert Music'' with the latter conducted by Robertson.


References


External links


Official Web Site of Conductor David Robertson

Official Facebook Page of Conductor David Robertson

David Robertson biography at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra


* Alex Ross, " ttp://www.newyorker.com/critics/music/?051205crmu_music The Evangelist. ''The New Yorker'', December 2005
Interview with David Robertson
January 28, 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, David 1958 births Living people American male conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) Classical musicians from California Classical musicians from Missouri Grammy Award winners 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Musicians from St. Louis Musicians from Santa Monica, California Chief conductors of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Music directors of the Orchestre National de Lyon Music directors of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra