Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Ralph Schwarz is one of the world's leading conductors, particularly noted for music of the first great age of American symphonism. He has also been one of the great trumpet virtuosi.
He began studying the trumpet when he was a boy of eight. He attended the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan during the summers of 1958-1960 and studied at New York's High School of Performing Arts (the Fame school). He studied trumpet with William Vacchiano, trumpeter of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1962-1968). He received his Bachelor's Degree from the Juilliard School in 1972. Meanwhile, he had debuted as a conductor in 1966.
During this time he had been busy as a trumpeter. He joined the American Brass Quintet in 1965 and with it toured the United States, Europe, and Asia, remaining with the ensemble from 1965 to 1973. He was a trumpeter in the American Symphony Orchestra from 1966 to 1972, becoming its first trumpet in 1969. With that orchestra he played a considerable quantity of new and American music. During this period is was also a member of the Aspen Festival Orchestra and the Casals Festival Orchestra. He was appointed co-principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1972 to 1975. As a trumpet player he made a number of important recordings, many of which are now in the CD catalogues.
He was the first wind player to win the Ford Foundation Award for concert artists (1971-1973), which enabled him to commission a trumpet concerto from Gunther Schuller, and commissioned a number of other trumpet works from composers including Dlugoszewski and Brant.
Meanwhile, he pursued a conducting career. In 1968 he began conducting for the Eliot Feld Dance Company of which he became Music Director. He also was music director of the Waterloo Festival, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In 1975 he was appointed music director of the 92d Street Y Chamber Symphony, which was later renamed the New York Chamber Symphony and has maintained that position since. He became music director of New York's Mostly Mozart Festival in 1982, and also remains in that position. IN 1981 he founded the Music Today contemporary music series in New York, serving as its music director through 1989.
In 1983 he was named Music Advisor of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. In 1984 he became its Principal Conductor, and in 1985 its Music Director. With the Seattle Symphony he has become known for having one of the most innovative and wide-ranging programming of any major symphony orchestra, with a strong emphasis on music of the great American symphonic composers such as Hanson, Diamond, Creston and their contemporaries, a large amount of which he has recorded for the audiophile CD label Delos. He has guided the orchestra to its highest artistic level, and seen it through construction and occupancy of its new venue, Benaroya Hall. He is also artistic adviser of the Tokyu Bunkamura's Orchard Hall, where he conducts the Tokyo Philharmonic in six concerts annually.
© Joseph Stevenson /TiVo
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Transcriptions orchestrales de Respighi et Elgar
Seattle Symphony, Ilkka Talvi, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Feb 20, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee
Seattle Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz, Igor Golovschin
Classical - Released by Unclassified on May 12, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suites orchestrales
Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 28, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountains
Gerard Schwarz, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on Apr 22, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HAYDN, J.: Trumpet Concerto in E flat major / HUMMEL, J.: Trumpet Concerto in E major (Schwarz) (Franz Joseph Haydn - Johann Nepomuk Hummel)
Classical - Released by Delos on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schéhérazade
Maria Larionoff, Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Feb 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
Seattle Symphony, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz, Zdenek Kosler
Classical - Released by Unclassified on Jun 9, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zoltan Kodaly : Suite Háry János & Dances of Galanta - Erno Dohnanyi : Konzertstück pour violoncelle / János Starker, violoncelle - Seattle Symphony - Gerard Schwarz
Seattle Symphony, Janos Starker, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Jul 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Taylor: Through the Looking Glass - Griffes: Poem - The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan
Seattle Symphony, Scott Goff, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Aug 7, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HOVHANESS, A.: Hovhaness Collection, Vol. 2 (Schwarz) (Alan Hovhaness)
Classical - Released by Delos on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 1 / Violin Concerto No. 2 / Enormous Room
Ilkka Talvi, Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Jun 10, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HOVHANESS: Khrimian Hairig / Guitar Concerto / Symphony No. 60
Lars Ranch, David Leisner, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Dec 12, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Copland: Rodeo - Piano Concerto - Billy the Kid
Seattle Symphony, Lorin Hollander, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar 6, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HANSON, H.: Music of Howard Hanson, Vol. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4 / Fantasy-Variations on a Theme of Youth (Schwarz) (Howard Hanson - Walt Whitman)
Classical - Released by Delos on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie n°3 - Merry Mount Suite
Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Apr 1, 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
SCHUMAN, W.: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5 / Judith (Seattle Symphony, Schwarz)
Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Dec 12, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 5 / Toccata / Partita
Seattle Symphony, Scott Goff, Gerard Schwarz, Ilkka Talvi
Classical - Released by Naxos on Sep 7, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie n°2 "Romantic"
Seattle Symphony, Susan Gulkis, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Oct 2, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gershwin: An American in Paris - Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite
Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on May 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Caprice espagnol
Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by Naxos on Sep 6, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo