Thomas Christian David (22 December 1925 – 19 January 2006) was an Austrian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, choral conductor, and

flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

. David was born in

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the List of cities and towns in Austria, eighth largest city in Aus ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

in 1925. He moved to Germany in 1934 at the age of nine with his father, composer

Johann Nepomuk David Johann Nepomuk David (30 November 1895 – 22 December 1977) was an Austrian composer. Life and career David was born in Eferding. He was a choirboy in the monastery of Sankt Florian and studied at an episcopal teacher training college in Linz, ...

, and mother. Thomas's younger brother,

Lukas David Lukas Florian David (5 June 1934 – 11 October 2021) was an Austrian classical violinist. Life David was born in Wels upper Austria in 1934 as the younger son of the composer and conductor Johann Nepomuk David (1895–1977) and his wife Ber ...

, (born 1934) later became a violinist. In 1967, at the age of forty-two, he married (), a Persian

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer and they moved to Iran. David was the

chief conductor 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 orchestra of the National Iranian Television NITV, and also taught at the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

for seven years until 1973. He had an enormous and invaluable role in the growth and development of the

Classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

in Iran. He conducted numerous masterpieces in different venues in Iran from late 1960s to late 1990s.

Life

David studied at the St. Thomas School in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, and was a member of the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

under the baton of

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

and Günther Ramin. He then studied at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

and at the

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteu ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. In 1948, he moved to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and studied

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

studies in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

. He taught at the Mozarteum, from 1945 to 1948. Additionally, he was the head of the South German Madrigal choir and

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often al ...

at the

Stuttgart Opera The Staatsoper Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Opera) is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart serves as its resident orchestra. History Performances of operas, ballet and ...

between 1948 and 1957. Starting in 1957, he taught at the

University of Music and Performing Arts The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

Vienna. In 1960, he led the Chamber Choir in Vienna. In 1967, at the age of forty-two, he married Mansooreh (Behjat) Ghasri, a famous Persian opera singer after they worked together on Atossa opera. After their marriage, they moved to Iran. David was the chief conductor of the orchestra of the National Iranian Television NITV and also taught at University of Tehran for seven years until 1973. From 1974 to 1988, he was professor of

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and composition at the Vienna Academy of Music. From 1980 to 1995, he was principal conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Between 1986 and 1988, he was the president of the Austrian Composers' Association. In 1992, he was the artistic director at the

Cairo Opera House The Cairo Opera House (, ''Dār el-Opera el-Masreyya''; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of Cairo's National Cultural Centre, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is ...

. Thomas Christian David had an enormous and invaluable role in the growth and development of classical music in Iran. He conducted numerous masterpieces in different venues in Iran from late 1960s to late 1990s. While they were in Iran, Mansooreh taught singing. Mansooreh died a couple of months before Thomas in 2005, in Vienna, due to cancer. Thomas Christian David died at age 80, in 2006 in Vienna. He was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery.

Recorded Works

List of Thomas Christian David's works: * http://db.musicaustria.at/en/node/52379 Some recorded works of Thomas Christian David:
Parts of the Carmen Suite, arranged by David, conducted by Leon Gregorian

Bijan Manijeh composed by Hossein Dehlavi

Ranginkamoon composed by Samin Baghtcheban

Aziz Joon composed by David performed by The Verdehr Trio
Video of Atossa Opera by Thomas Christian David with Persian libretto, performed at Rudaki Hall,

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, 1967
Atossa Opera
On-sale records of Thomas Christian David:
On-Sale Records

Awards

*State Prize for Music, 1961, Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture *Culture Prize of Upper Austria for music, 1979 * Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, First Class, 1981

Literature

* Sussan Khalladeh: Thomas Christian David, Conductor and Composer, Biography; Brandstätter Verlag, Vienna 2005, . * The catalog of the German National Library Biography of Thomas Christian David on musicaustria. * http://www.musicaustria.at/magazin/neue-musik/artikel-berichte/100-jahre-oekb-vorschau-auf-die-jubilaeumswoche-mit-konzerten * Flyer for his 70th birthday celebration, Vienna 1995. * http://www.bildarchivaustria.at/Pages/ImageDetail.aspx?p_iBildID=15951860

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:David, Thomas 1925 births 2006 deaths People from Wels 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian male musicians Austrian composers Austrian male composers Austrian male conductors (music) Musicians from Leipzig Academic staff of the University of Tehran 20th-century Austrian flautists