- Franz-Paul Decker
Franz-Paul Decker (
June 22 ,1923 ) is a German-Canadian conductor.Decker was born in
Cologne Germany where he studied at theHochschule für Musik with Philip Jarnach and Eugen Papst. He made his conducting début at the age of 22 at the Cologne Opera, and four years later was appointed to the Staatsoper,Wiesbaden and subsequently to the positions of conductor of the Wiesbaden Symphony Orchestra and Generalmusikdirecktor inBochum . In 1948, Decker was introduced to the composerRichard Strauss at a card game ofwhist . Strauss casually mentioned that he had just finished orchestrating four songs he had recently composed (theFour Last Songs ).Although comfortable conducting virtually any work in the orchestral repertoire, Decker is famous for his mastery and approach to the music of
Wagner , Richard Strauss,Anton Bruckner ,Reger andGustav Mahler . His performances of works byMozart ,Haydn andBeethoven have been praised for their balance and clarity. His approach to Spanish andSouth America n music is bold and charismatic. He has conducted the world premieres of dozens of orchestral works byCanadian composers , and has conducted 85 differentoperas during his distinguished career.Decker was Music Director of the Municipal Orchestra of Bochum (1956-1964), the
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1962-1967), theMontreal Symphony Orchestra (1967-1975), the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (1985-1991), and theNew Zealand Symphony Orchestra . He served as Artistic Advisor to theCalgary Philharmonic Orchestra (1975-1977) and theWinnipeg Symphony Orchestra (1980-1982). He was Principal Guest Conductor of Ottawa'sNational Arts Centre Orchestra (1991-1999) and theEdmonton Symphony Orchestra (2003-2004).He has worked with soloists as diverse as
Artur Rubinstein ,Emil Gilels ,Shura Cherkassky ,Clara Haskil ,Ida Haendel ,Hélène Grimaud ,Elisabeth Schwarzkopf ,Jessye Norman ,Dame Kiri Te Kanawa , andJon Vickers . His television broadcast of a Christmas concert withLuciano Pavarotti and orchestra, filmed atNotre-Dame Basilica inMontreal in the 1980s, is broadcast annually around the world.Links
* [http://www.naxos.com/conductorinfo/69.htm Franz-Paul Decker biography] at
Naxos Records
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0000910 Franz-Paul Decker biography] at the "Encyclopedia of Music in Canada "
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