[Kazem
Abdullah]
A
press release on January 25, 2012 announced that the American
conductor Kazem Abdullah had been selected as “Generalmusikdirektor
of the city of Aachen, home to one of Germany’s oldest
orchestras...” Maestro Abdullah officially assumed his duties
today, August 1, 2012, under a five-year contract. The release
explains the “Culturally rich Aachen post includes both orchestral
and operatic performances.”
Kazem
Abdullah is now “the 30th Generalmusikdirektor of the
city of Aachen, home to one of Germany’s oldest orchestras...”
“A press conference was held to formally introduce him to the
public at the Rathaus Aachen (Aachen’s City Hall) by Mayor Marcel
Phillipe and Aachen Theater Intendant Michael Schmitz-Aufterbeck.
“Mr.
Abdullah was unanimously elected to the post in November 2011 by the
orchestra’s Search Committee, having been selected as one of seven
candidates invited to audition from a pool of 100. The press
conference followed a private meeting in which Maestro Abdullah
signed a five-year contract with the orchestra. As the musical head
of both Aachen’s orchestral and operatic season, Abdullah will lead
a concert series of eight major orchestral programs and six to seven
operas, as well as special concerts and events.”
“Intendant
Schmitz-Aufterbeck congratulated Mr. Abdullah, stating, 'I am very
pleased that next season Kazem Abdullah will become the new
Generalmusikdirektor of the city of Aachen, and on this occasion I
offer him my most heartfelt congratulations. From his previous work
in Aachen, we know just how Abdullah's spark has vaulted over the
orchestra and audience. I have only very rarely seen standing
ovations here for a guest conductor. Abdullah thrills people. We have
found a totally major talent.'”
“Mr.
Abdullah said, 'I am honored to be elected Generalmusikdirektor of
Aachen and humbled to think of those who have held this post before
me. I am especially excited to build on the legacy of my predecessor,
Marcus Bosch, and to continue making excellent music with an
orchestra of such exceptional quality. In recent years, as its
national and international reputations have grown, Aachen has
developed a distinctive voice, well suited to a remarkably wide
repertoire. This musical diversity is matched by the city itself, a
combination of astonishing history and refreshing innovation. Its
citizens, people of discriminating tastes but also down-to-earth
hospitality, have
cultivated a musical treasure, and I am so very happy to count myself
among them.'”
“In
becoming General Music Director of Aachen, Mr. Abdullah inherits an
orchestra steeped not only in cultural tradition (Aachen was the
capital of western Europe in the 9th Century) but also musical
firsts: it presented the Paris premiere of Weber’s Der
Freischütz (The Marksman), and in 1825, then music director
Ferdinand Ries conducted the Aachen premiere of the Beethoven’s 9th
symphony, the first performance of the work outside of Vienna. Among
the renowned music directors who preceded Maestro Abdullah atAachen
are Herbert von Karajan and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
“A
vibrant, versatile and compelling presence on the podium, the 32-year
old conductor has experience in both the orchestral and operatic
arenas, which will serve him well in his new position. Kazem
Abdullah’s orchestral credits include the Berliner
Kammerphilharmonie, Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Nürnburg,
Staatskapelle Weimar, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki
Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México,
Oregon Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts
Center Orchestra of Ottawa, and the Tanglewood Music Center
Orchestra, where he substituted on very short notice to conduct
performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in collaboration
with the Mark Morris Dance Group.
"Mr. Abdullah served as Assistant
Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a three-year post to
which he was appointed by Music Director James Levine. In addition to
Levine, while at the Met he worked with conductors such as Louis
Langree, Kirill Petrenko, Lorin Maazel, and Fabio Luisi. A recipient
of a 2010 Solti Foundation U.S Grant, Mr. Abdullah graduated from the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where he trained as a clarinetist.
He then studied at The Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins
University before joining The New World Symphony as a clarinetist
under Michael Tilson Thomas for two seasons, after which he continued
his musical studies at the
University of Southern California. His conducting teachers include
Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Stefan
Asbury, Bernard Haitink, and James Levine.”
