Hans Graf
Encyclopedia
Hans Graf is an Austrian conductor
.
As a child, Graf learned the violin
and the piano
. He studied at the Musikhochschule in Graz
, Austria, and graduated with diplomas in piano and conducting. He also participated in conducting master classes with Franco Ferrara
, Sergiu Celibidache
and Arvīds Jansons. He received a state scholarship at the Leningrad Conservatory with Arvid Jansons. For the season 1975/1976 Graf was music director of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
in Baghdad. After winning the Karl Böhm
conductor's competition in 1979, he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera
in 1981 with Stravinsky's Petrouchka.
Graf was music director
of the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg
from 1984 to 1994, where he recorded the complete symphonies and other works by Mozart
. From 1995 to 2003, Graf was music director of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
. He was also music director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
, France, from 1998 to 2004.
Graf first conducted the Houston Symphony in 2000, and became its music director in 2001. In September 2004, Graf made his first contract extension with the Houston Symphony, through the 2008/2009 season. He made his Carnegie Hall
conducting debut with the Houston Symphony in January 2006. In July 2007, Graf further extended his contract with the Houston Symphony through the 2011/2012 season. In September 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of Graf's contract as music director through the 2012/2013 season, and the conclusion of his Houston tenure at that time, upon which Graf is to take the title of Conductor Laureate. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Shepherd School of Music
, Rice University
.
In private life, Graf is known as a wine connoisseur. He and his wife Margarita have a daughter, Anna.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
As a child, Graf learned the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. He studied at the Musikhochschule in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Austria, and graduated with diplomas in piano and conducting. He also participated in conducting master classes with Franco Ferrara
Franco Ferrara
Franco Ferrara was an Italian conductor.After obtaining diplomas in piano, violin, organ and musical composition at the Conservatory of Bologna, Ferrara began his career as violin player in Bologna, in Rome and in Florence, with the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino...
, Sergiu Celibidache
Sergiu Celibidache
- Biography :Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, and began his studies in music with the piano, after which he studied music, philosophy and mathematics in Bucharest, Romania and then in Paris...
and Arvīds Jansons. He received a state scholarship at the Leningrad Conservatory with Arvid Jansons. For the season 1975/1976 Graf was music director of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra is a government funded symphony orchestra in Baghdad. The INSO plays primarily classical European music, as well as original compositions based on Iraqi and Arab instruments and music.-History:The orchestra began as the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra in 1944 by...
in Baghdad. After winning the Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
conductor's competition in 1979, he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
in 1981 with Stravinsky's Petrouchka.
Graf was music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
of the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg
Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg
The Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra is the symphony orchestra of the town and state of Salzburg, Austria. It was founded in 1841 and acquired its current name in 1908. It is a major participant at the Salzburg Festival....
from 1984 to 1994, where he recorded the complete symphonies and other works by Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. From 1995 to 2003, Graf was music director of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra, based in Calgary, Alberta. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts...
. He was also music director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
The Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine is a French symphony orchestra based in Bordeaux. Its principal concert venue is the Palais des sports. In addition to its regular symphony concerts, the ONBA serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Opéra National de Bordeaux and the Ballet of the...
, France, from 1998 to 2004.
Graf first conducted the Houston Symphony in 2000, and became its music director in 2001. In September 2004, Graf made his first contract extension with the Houston Symphony, through the 2008/2009 season. He made his Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
conducting debut with the Houston Symphony in January 2006. In July 2007, Graf further extended his contract with the Houston Symphony through the 2011/2012 season. In September 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of Graf's contract as music director through the 2012/2013 season, and the conclusion of his Houston tenure at that time, upon which Graf is to take the title of Conductor Laureate. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Shepherd School of Music
Shepherd School of Music
The Shepherd School of Music is a university school of music located on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Shepherd School is itself very selective, accepting overall about 10-15% of all graduate applicants and 15% of all undergraduate applicants...
, Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
.
In private life, Graf is known as a wine connoisseur. He and his wife Margarita have a daughter, Anna.
Discography
- 1989: W. A. Mozart: Marches. Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg (Capriccio 10 253)
- 1990: W. A. Mozart: Complete Symphonies. Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg (Capriccio 49 288)
- 1990: W. A. Mozart: Violin Concerto 1 & 2 / Adagio / 2 Rondos. Benjamin Schmid, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg (Capriccio 10 370)
- 1990: BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
: Piano Concerto 1 & 4. Maria TipoMaria Tipo-Biography:Tipo was born in Naples. She was taught originally by her mother, Ersilia Cavallo, who was a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni, she went on to study under Alfredo Casella and Guido Agosti.At only seventeen, she won the Geneva international piano competition...
, London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
(EMI 7 54058 2) - 1990: ZemlinskyAlexander von ZemlinskyAlexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...
: Es war einmalEs war einmalEs war einmal is a fairy-tale opera in a prologue and three acts by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Its libretto, an adaptation of M...
(Once Upon a Time). Complete recording (2 CDs). Eva JohanssonEva JohanssonEva Johansson is a Danish soprano opera singer.Born in Copenhagen and educated at Ingrid Jespersens School, Johansson studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and then the Copenhagen Opera Academy as well as privately with Oren Brown and Susanna Eken .She made her debut at the Danish Royal...
, Kurt Westi, Aage HauglandAage HauglandAage Haugland was a Danish operatic bass.- Life and career :He was born in Copenhagen and made his professional debut in Oslo in 1968. From 1970 to 1973 he was based in Bremen, and appeared at Den Jyske Opera in Aarhus in 1972...
, Per-Arne Wahlgren, The Danish National Radio Symphony OrchestraDanish National Symphony OrchestraThe Danish National Symphony Orchestra , is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR...
and Chorus (Capriccio 60 019-2) - 1991: W. A. Mozart: Dances and Minuets. Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg (Capriccio 10 360)
- 1994: BrucknerAnton BrucknerAnton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
: Symphony No. 8Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor is the last Symphony the composer completed. It exists in two major versions of 1887 and 1890. It was premiered under conductor Hans Richter in 1892 in Vienna...
. Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg - 1995/96: W. A. Mozart: Piano Concertos (6 CDs). Éric Heidsieck, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg (VICC-101 etc.)
- 1999: Spanish Piano Concertos (AlbenizIsaac AlbénizIsaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish Catalan pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms .-Life:Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz...
, TurinaJoaquín TurinaJoaquín Turina was a Spanish composer of classical music.-Biography:Turina was born in Seville but his origins were in northern Italy . He studied in Seville as well as in Madrid...
, de FallaManuel de FallaManuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....
, MontsalvatgeXavier MontsalvatgeXavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish Catalan composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.-Life:...
). Angela Cheng, Calgary Philharmonic OrchestraCalgary Philharmonic OrchestraThe Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra, based in Calgary, Alberta. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts...
(CBC/SMCD 5195) - 1999: MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
: Symphony No. 1Symphony No. 1 (Mahler)The Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was mainly composed between late 1887 and March 1888, though it incorporates music Mahler had composed for previous works. It was composed while Mahler was second conductor at the Leipzig Opera, Germany...
. Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra - 2000: LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
: Piano Concertos. Janina FialkowskaJanina FialkowskaJanina Fialkowska, OC is a Canadian-American classical pianist.- Early life :Fialkowska was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a Canadian mother and a Polish father , an engineer and Polish army officer who emigrated to Canada in 1945...
, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CBC/SMCD 5202) - 2001: SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
: Complete Symphonies (5 CDs). Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (Kontrapunkt 32318/22) - 2001: OrffCarl OrffCarl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
: Carmina BuranaCarmina Burana (Orff)Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
. Christine Brandes, Noel Espíritu Velasco, Stephen Powell, Houston Symphony and Chorus - 2002: Scaramouche (MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
/Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
). Jeremy Brown, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CBC/SMCD 5217) - 2004: LehárFranz LehárFranz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
: Der Rastelbinder (2 CDs). Fritz MuliarFritz MuliarFritz Muliar, born as Friedrich Ludwig Stand , was an Austrian actor who, due to his huge popularity, is often referred to by his countrymen as Volksschauspieler.- Biography :...
, Elfie Hobarth, Helga Papouschek, Heinz ZednikHeinz ZednikHeinz Zednik is an Austrian operatic tenor, closely associated with the character tenor roles of Wagner such as Mime and Loge and David...
, Adolf DallapozzaAdolf DallapozzaAdolf Dallapozza is an Austrian tenor in opera, operetta and musical theatre He worked for more than 40 years at the Vienna Volksoper.-Career:Dallapozza was trained as a clerk and started work in a book shop...
, ORFORF (broadcaster)Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media...
Chorus, Wiener Mozart Sängerknaben, ORF Symphony Orchestra (cpo 777 038-2) - 2004: Bruckner: Symphony No. 4Symphony No. 4 (Bruckner)Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major is one of the composer's most popular works. It was written in 1874 and revised several times through 1888. It was dedicated to Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. It was premiered in 1881 by Hans Richter in Vienna with great success...
. Houston Symphony - 2001–05: Henri DutilleuxHenri DutilleuxHenri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
: Orchestral Works (3 CDs). Olivier Charlier, Jean-Guihen QueyrasJean-Guihen QueyrasJean-Guihen Queyras is a French cellist. He was born in Canada and moved with his parents to Algeria when he was 5 years old; the family moved to France 3 years later. He is a professor at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart and artistic co-director of the Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence...
, François le RouxFrançois le RouxFrançois le Roux is a French baritone. Le Roux began vocal studies at 19 with François Loup, winning prizes in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro. He was a member of the Lyon Opera Company from 1980 to 1985, before appearing in many international houses, making his Paris Opéra debut in 1988 as Valentin...
, Orchestre National Bordeaux AquitaineOrchestre National Bordeaux AquitaineThe Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine is a French symphony orchestra based in Bordeaux. Its principal concert venue is the Palais des sports. In addition to its regular symphony concerts, the ONBA serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Opéra National de Bordeaux and the Ballet of the...
(Arte Nova 74321 80786 2 etc.) - 2005: BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
: The Wooden PrinceThe Wooden PrinceThe Wooden Prince Op. 13, Sz. 60, is a one-act pantomime ballet composed by Béla Bartók in 1914-1916 to a scenario by Béla Balázs...
/ Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
: Le baiser de la féeLe baiser de la féeLe baiser de la fée can refer to:* Le baiser de la fée , Igor Stravinsky's 1928 ballet, revised 1950* Le baiser de la fée , Sir Frederick Ashton's 1935 ballet...
(Divertimento). Houston Symphony (Koch International 3-7594-2) - 2006: W. A. Mozart: Requiem / Sinfonia concertante in A major (Fragment). Heidi Grant Murphy, Jane Gilbert, Stanford Olsen, Nathan Berg, Eric Halen, Wayne Brooks, Brinton Averil Smith, Houston Symphony and Chorus
- 2007: G. Gershwin: An American in Paris / Concerto in F / Porgy and Bess (A Symphonic Picture). Jon Kimura Parker, Houston Symphony
- 2008: J. Strauss Jr. Houston Symphony and Chorus