Obituary: Christoph von Dohnányi
All of us at the Philharmonia are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Christoph von Dohnányi.
Christoph von Dohnányi had a long and profound relationship with the Orchestra, extending over half a century. His first performances with us were in the early 1970’s with repertoire including Schoenberg, Bruckner, Schubert and Brahms; composers whose music would figure heavily in his later work with us.
He began working with the Philharmonia on a regular basis from 1992, was appointed Principal Guest Conductor in 1994, and in 1997 he became Principal Conductor, his tenure extending over a decade, before being appointed Honorary Conductor for Life in 2008. By the time of his final appearance in 2018 he had conducted well over 200 performances with the Orchestra.
His appointment as the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor came at a pivotal time, with the Orchestra becoming a joint Resident Orchestra of the Royal Festival Hall in the same year. During his tenure he led a focus on the music of the Second Viennese School, spearheaded a multi-concert celebration of the music of Harrison Birtwhistle and conducted complete cycles of Beethoven’s Symphonies and Piano Concertos. A relationship with Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet saw him and the Orchestra travel there for a number of productions, including Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten, Arabella and Die schweigsame Frau, Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Schoenberg’s Moses and Aron.
Christoph von Dohnányi led Philharmonia tours to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Greece, amongst others, including two major tours of the USA and three multi-night residencies at Vienna’s legendary Musikverein. His tenure included appearances at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival, and he also had a deep commitment to the Orchestra’s work outside of London, appearing regularly everywhere from Cardiff and Bristol to Birmingham and Southend.
The relationship between Christoph von Dohnányi and the Philharmonia is immortalised in the many recordings made together, including a complete Brahms Symphony Cycle, recordings of Bruckner Symphonies 4 and 9, and music by Strauss including Ein Heldenleben and Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche.
“Christoph von Dohnányi was Principal Conductor of the orchestra when I first heard them together in the autumn of 1999, as a student sitting on the choir seats, being completely mesmerised by the unique Philharmonia sound in Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. He was a maestro with a unique, deep and personal connection to the Austro-German repertoire and one of its finest interpreters, nourishing that tradition, as well as the sound, with the Philharmonia. I was lucky to meet him in person in April this year for an extended interview on occasion of the orchestra’s 80th Birthday, and he was completely charming and generous in his anecdotes of the many years of collaboration with the Philharmonia, while also uniquely insightful on the role of music in an ever-changing world. I’d like to extend my deepest condolences to his family for their loss.” Thorben Dittes, Chief Executive
Born in Berlin in 1929, Christoph von Dohnányi initially studied Law in Munich, but after two years joined the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München to study composition, piano and conducting. Upon graduating, he was awarded the Richard Strauss Prize for conducting by the City of Munich and continued to study with his grandfather, Ernst von Dohnányi, at Florida State University and at Tanglewood.
In 1953 Christoph von Dohnányi was hired as repetiteur and conductor at Oper Frankfurt by Sir Georg Solti and at the age of 27 he moved to Lübeck, where he became Germany’s youngest General Music Director (GMD), before becoming GMD at Staatstheater Kassel and then Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne.
In 1953 Christoph von Dohnányi was hired as repetiteur and conductor at Oper Frankfurt by Sir Georg Solti and at the age of 27 he moved to Lübeck, where he became Germany’s youngest General Music Director (GMD), before becoming GMD at Staatstheater Kassel and then Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne.
From 1968 he served as GMD in Frankfurt and, from 1972, as Director of the Oper Frankfurt. He was Intendant and Chief Conductor of the Hamburgische Staatsoper from 1977-1984. In Frankfurt and Hamburg, he aimed to balance traditional opera productions with innovative music theatre, that blend of tradition and innovation becoming a hallmark of his later work with the Philharmonia.
In December 1981 Christoph von Dohnányi first conducted The Cleveland Orchestra and served as its sixth Music Director from September 1984 to August 2002, becoming the orchestra’s first Music Director Laureate. While with the orchestra he initiated the foundation of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra as well as the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus.
Christoph von Dohnányi was a regular guest conductor at many of the world’s leading opera houses, including Zurich Opera House, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, the San Francisco Opera and was in residence with the Philharmonia at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, as well as being a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival.
In 2012 he took up a teaching role at the Juilliard School in New York and a year later returned to the Philharmonia to conduct a special Birthday concert for King Charles at Buckingham Palace. In 2015 he led us in our last European tour together, visiting Dortmund, Prague, Berlin and Cologne and conducted a gala concert at the Royal Festival Hall celebrating the Orchestra’s 70th birthday.
Christoph von Dohnányi’s relationship with the Philharmonia was long-lived, deep and enriching, his work with us re-affirming the orchestra’s identity with the Austro-German repertoire and sound, while also placing most recent masterpieces from across the canon front and centre of our music-making.
He will be very much missed by everyone at the Philharmonia and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this time.
As part of our celebration of his life and legacy we will dedicate a concert to his memory in our 80th anniversary season.