- Sergiu Comissiona
Sergiu Comissiona (
16 June 1928 –March 5 ,2005 ) was aRomania n-born American conductor andviolinist .Biography
Early life
Born in
Bucharest , Romania, he beganviolin studies at the age of five, was hired as aviolinist by theRomanian State Ensemble while still in his teens, making his conducting debut at the age of 17. In his twenties he was named principal conductor of theRomanian National Opera , which he led from 1955 to 1959.Career
He fled the Communist regime in 1959 and emigrated to
Israel . In 1960 he founded theRamat Gan Chamber Orchestra , which he led until 1967. He also directed theHaifa Symphony from 1959 until 1966. He made his American debut with thePhiladelphia Orchestra in 1965 and emigrated to theUnited States in 1968. Later he was also music director of theGoteborg ,Sweden , Symphony Orchestra from 1966 to 1977, and became chief conductor of theNetherlands Radio Philharmonic inHilversum ,Netherlands , in 1982. Comissiona also held music directorships with some of North America's leading ensembles, including theBaltimore Symphony Orchestra , theHouston Symphony , theVancouver Symphony Orchestra and was also music director of theNew York City Opera . Beginning in 1969 he spent 15 years with the Baltimore Orchestra and transformed it from a little-known ensemble into a nationally respected orchestra, eventually leading taking it on its first international tour and directing it in its first recordings. He was also the Music Director of theAsian Youth Orchestra . Comissiona was principal conductor of the Spanish national broadcasting network orchestra inMadrid , theRTVE Symphony Orchestra , from 1990 to 1998.He premiered and gave the first recordings of a number of modern works including symphonies by
Allan Pettersson , who dedicated his ninth symphony to him as well as works byElie Siegmeister andMichael Jeffrey Shapiro .From 1997 until his death, Comissiona was principal guest conductor for the USC Thornton Symphony at the
University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. [cite web |url=http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2005/03/23/News/Orchestra.Conductor.Dies.At.The.Age.Of.76-900577.shtml |title=Orchestra conductor dies at the age of 76 |first=Monique |last=Rad |date=2005-03-23 |work=The Daily Trojan |accessdate=2008-01-13 ]Personal life
Comissiona and his wife became American citizens on
July 4 1976 , at a special Bicentennial ceremony atFort McHenry on Baltimore Harbor. He was a longtime resident ofNew York City . He died of a heart attack, inOklahoma City ,Oklahoma , just hours before he was to perform.World premiere performances
Comissiona conducted Siegmeister's An Entertainment for Violin, Piano, and Orchestra at the Merriwether Post Pavilion on July 2, 1976 with Ann Saslav, piano, and Isidor Saslav, the BSO's concertmaster, as soloists. The Saslavs had commissioned the work from Siegmeister.
Honours and awards
He was made a
Knight of "l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres " ofFrance ; received a Mus D. "honoris causa " from theNew England Conservatory in Boston,Massachusetts ; was an honorary member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Music and founder national competition for young American conductors of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.External links
*allmusic|41:18438
*findagrave|10590129References
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