Zdenek Macal
Conductor Zdenek Mácal was active internationally as well as in his native Czech Republic. He was especially well regarded in the U.S., where he was the longtime conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Mácal was born on January 8, 1936, in Brno, in what was then Czechoslovakia. His father was a violinist who gave him his first lessons at the age of four. Mácal attended the Brno Conservatory from 1951 to 1956, moving to Brno's Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts and graduating there in 1960 with highest honors. Mácal landed a post as conductor of the Moravian Philharmonic in 1963, remaining there until 1967 and beginning to build an international reputation despite Cold War-era restrictions. He won the Besançon International Conducting Competition in France in 1965 and the Mitropoulos Competition in New York the following year, and he conducted the prestigious Czech Philharmonic on a European tour. Those experiences stood him in good stead after the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968; he was able to leave the country and find a post as chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, West Germany, in 1970.
In 1972, Mácal made a guest conducting appearance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and from then on, work in the U.S. formed a substantial part of his career. He served as music director of the San Antonio Symphony and was highly visible as principal conductor at Chicago's Grant Park Summer Festival. In 1986, he became music director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, making a recording with that group of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ("Choral"), on the audiophile Koss label. He went on to make many more recordings with the group, also conducting the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg, Germany, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia for a time.
In 1993, Mácal became music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, remaining there until 2002 and leading it in several recordings for the Delos label. In 2003, Mácal returned home and took a position as chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, remaining there until 2007 and continuing to record with the group. He also made guest conducting appearances with many major orchestras in the U.S., Europe, and East Asia and was in demand at top European festivals. Mácal's substantial recording catalog includes a series of albums with the Czech Philharmonic on the Exton label. In 2015, he and the Philharmonic moved to the Universal label, backing cellist Anja Thauer in a program of music by Dvořák, Max Reger, and Jean Françaix. Mácal remained active into old age. He died in Prague on October 25, 2023, at the age of 87.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Diskografie
13 Album, -en • Geordnet nach Bestseller
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Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini - Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 - Stravinsky: Three Scenes from Petrushka
Shura Cherkassky, Zdenek Macal, Kölner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ica Classics am 03.05.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
DVORAK, A.: Requiem / Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" (Macal) (Antonin Dvorak)
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Delos am 25.04.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak : Cello Concerto (+ Reger & Francaix)
Anja Thauer, Czech Philharmonic, Zdenek Macal, Jean Françaix
Klassik - Erschienen bei Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. am 25.09.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast, JB 1:112
Zdenek Macal, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Telarc am 01.04.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto In B Minor, Piano Trio In E Minor ‘Dumky’
Sung-Won Yang, Emmanuel Strosser, Olivier Charlier, Zdenek Macal, Czech Philharmonic
Klassik - Erschienen bei Universal Music Ltd. am 01.01.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Te Deum - Psaume 149 - Ouvertures (Antonín Dvorák)
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Delos am 08.08.2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BERLIOZ, H.: Symphonie fantastique / Romeo et Juliette (Love Scene) (New Jersey Symphony, Macal) (Hector Berlioz)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Delos am 01.01.1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Zdenek Macal
Klassik - Erschienen bei Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. am 13.02.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
DVORAK, A.: Stabat Mater / 10 Biblical Songs (Macal) (Jacopone da Todi - Antonin Dvorak)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Delos am 20.09.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Czech Classics (Live, New Year's Eve 2020)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Zdenek Macal
Klassik - Erschienen bei Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. am 01.01.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Wallenstein's Camp - Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D Minor
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Zdenek Macal
Klassik - Erschienen bei Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. am 15.02.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musique pour violoncelle
Sebastian Foron, Česká filharmonie, Matti Raekallio, Zdenek Macal
Klassik - Erschienen bei Toccata Classics am 15.02.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Smetana 1
Zdeněk Mácal, Sinfonie Orchester des Südwestfunks Baden
Klassik - Erschienen bei Music Master am 05.10.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo