Vladimir (Vlad) Conta (born 20 January 1954) is a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n conductor and pianist with an international career spanning 30 years. He was the Principal Conductor of the

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the Regina Orchestral Society in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the Regina Choral and Orchestral Society in 1 ...

in Canada.Brandhagen, William L. (2006)
"Regina Symphony Orchestra"
''

Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Co ...

''. Retrieved 10 February 2014. He has been a Principal Conductor at the

Romanian National Opera, Bucharest The Romanian National Opera, Bucharest () is the oldest of the four national opera and ballet companies of Romania. The company was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Bucharest, near the Cotroceni neighbourhood. History In 1877, Romanian g ...

, since 2001. He made his American debut in 1997 with pianist

Radu Lupu Radu Lupu (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time. Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teache ...

and the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

in a series of concerts in Washington, DC.McLellan, Joseph (18 January 1997)
"Lupu's Remarkable NSO Solo"
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. Retrieved 10 February 2014 . His London debut came in 2000, when he conducted the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

in several concerts at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

featuring the Russian pianist

Mikhail Pletnev Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Life and career Pletnev was born into a musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union. His fath ...

.Ashley, Tim (24 May 2000)
"Review: Mikhail Pletnev/ Philharmonia/ Vladimir Conta"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Retrieved 10 February 2014. Conta was born in Arad, Romania and is the son of the conductor Iosif Conta.Vintila, Ramona (19 January 2001)
"Astăzi e ziua ta: Vlad Conta"
. '' Jurnalul Naţional''. Retrieved 10 February 2014 .Roşu, Ionela (16 February 2013)
"Interviu: Vlad Conta, dirijor: "Ca şi Don Giovanni, nici Mozart nu are mormânt""
''

Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...

''. Retrieved 10 February 2014 .

Early life

Conta attended the

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

Music Academy of Bucharest, debuting at age 13 as a piano soloist with the National Radio Orchestra, conducted by his father and Romanian conductor Iosif Conta. He received prizes at piano competitions in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and followed with studies at the Geneva Conservatoire de Musique of Switzerland. He trained at the "Mozarteum" in Salzburg, Austria under pianist and conductor Carlo Zecchi. He studied at the Chigiana Music Academy in Sienna, Italy, with Italian conductor Franco Ferrara.

Career

His conducting career started in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

, Geneva and

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and continued in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the US and

. His repertoire included symphonic works, opera and ballet. Conta has been conducting the National Opera of Bucharest since 2001, and at different opera houses and symphony orchestras in Romania and abroad. His career started as a coach at the Monte Carlo Opera and at the

Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officia ...

in Switzerland. The position of Kapellmeister at the State Theater in Biel- Bienne (Switzerland) followed, as well as that of principal guest conductor at Teatro Regio di Torino. Between 1989 and 1999 he took the position of Music Director and Conductor of the Regina Symphony, Canada’s oldest continuously performing orchestra. His American debut came in 1997 with pianist

and the National Symphony Orchestra, in a series of concerts in Washington, DC. IN 1997 in Moscow he conducted the National Russian Orchestra in a

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

program. In 2000, Conta made his London debut at the

, conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in several concerts, with a program which included all Tchaikovsky’s piano works performed by Russian pianist

. In 2006 debuted in Rome, presenting a Bartok/Enescu/Beethoven program with the Orchestra di Roma e del Lazio. After 1989, Conta repeatedly returned to Romania, including a dual role as a pianist and conductor leading the George Enescu Philharmonic in an all-Beethoven program (3d Symphony and the Fantasy in C minor for piano, chorus and orchestra).

Awards

* The 125th Anniversary Medal of Canada for cultural merit * The Ludovic Spiess Prize awarded by the Romanian Musical Forum in 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conta, Vladimir Romanian male conductors (music) People from Arad, Romania 1954 births Living people Jewish classical pianists 21st-century Romanian conductors (music) 21st-century Romanian classical pianists 21st-century Romanian male musicians