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Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orchestral Activities and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra at the Frost School of Music at the
Gerard Schwarz - Home
Most Up To Date Biography retrieved from the Seattle Symphony Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Gerard 1947 births Living people American male conductors (music) American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Juilliard School alumni Jewish American classical musicians People from Weehawken, New Jersey 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) Classical musicians from New Jersey 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews American classical trumpeters American male classical musicians American male trumpeters Players of the New York Philharmonic Principal conductors of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Music directors of the Seattle Symphony
Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orchestral Activities and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
.
Early life
Schwarz was born inWeehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...
, to Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
parents. His parents were both physicians and took him to concerts and opera performances. Schwarz began his trumpet career at age 8. By 12 years of age, he dedicated his life to becoming a musician. He graduated from New York City's High School of Performing Arts and Juilliard School of Music and began his musical career as a trumpeter, performing until 1977 as co-principal of the New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
under Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.
Born in Montb ...
. He began conducting in 1966.
Schwarz champions American composers, past and present. He has made more than 100 recordings with the Seattle Symphony including many American works. In particular, he won acclaim for his recordings of symphonies and orchestral works by Walter Piston, Howard Hanson
Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist. As director for forty year ...
, William Schuman, Alan Hovhaness, and David Diamond.
Schwarz built the strength of the Seattle Symphony. In 1983 it had 5,000 subscribers; as of 2008 it had 35,000. He spearheaded the effort to build Benaroya Hall for the symphony. However, his leadership style of the Seattle Symphony was controversial among some musicians. A portrait painting of Schwarz by artist Michele Rushworth was unveiled and installed at Benaroya Hall in 2011.
Career
In 1971 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He frequently held multiple positions simultaneously. He was music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from 1978 to 1986. He served as music director of New York's Mostly Mozart Festival from 1982 to 2001. He was the music director of the Seattle Symphony from 1985 to 2011. From 2001 to 2006, Schwarz was music director of theRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...
(RLPO). He served as music director of the New York Chamber Symphony and music advisor to Tokyo's Orchard Hall in conjunction with the Tokyo Philharmonic.
In 2007, Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as its principal conductor since 2005. He expanded the festival's audience to the largest in its history, enhanced education and programming to include a composer in residence and three new concert series and increased collaboration with An Appalachian Summer Festival, where he is artistic partner for symphonic music programming.
Recordings
Among the orchestras that Schwarz has led on his other recordings are the Czech Philharmonic, thePhiladelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...
, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has a ...
, and the Orchestre National de France
The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...
. In 2003 he recorded two concertos by Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
: the Cello Concerto (with Julian Lloyd Webber) and the Concerto for Two Timpanists (with Evelyn Glennie and Jonathan Haas with the RLPO).
He recorded all of Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian 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 the modernism ...
's symphonies and Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
's tone poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement (music), movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. T ...
s with the RLPO.
As a trumpet soloist, Schwarz has recorded the concertos of Franz Joseph Haydn and Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and ...
for Delos.
In 2011, the block around Benaroya Hall was named "Gerard Schwarz Place."
Discography
* ''Judith Blegen and Frederica von Stade: Songs, Arias and Duets'', with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Columbia, 1975Awards
* Ditson Conductor's Award for his commitment to the performance of American music. (1989) * Musical America's Conductor of the Year (1994) He was the first American to win that award * 14Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nominations
* 4 Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
awards (of 5 nominations) for his performance of Mozart's ''Requiem'' on ''Live from Lincoln Center'' and performances with the Seattle Symphony on PBS.
* Seattle City of Music Outstanding Achievement Award (2010).
Personal life
Gerard Schwarz married Jody (née Greitzer) in June 1984. He has four children, including cellist Julian Schwarz.References
External links
Gerard Schwarz - Home
Most Up To Date Biography retrieved from the Seattle Symphony Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Gerard 1947 births Living people American male conductors (music) American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Juilliard School alumni Jewish American classical musicians People from Weehawken, New Jersey 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) Classical musicians from New Jersey 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews American classical trumpeters American male classical musicians American male trumpeters Players of the New York Philharmonic Principal conductors of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Music directors of the Seattle Symphony