Symphony No 2 Little Russian (with Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 2 Op. 9 Antar)

He has regularly appeared in all the world's leading concert and opera houses during the last thirty-five years. Maestro Maazel has conducted more than 4,000 opera and concert performances with over 130 leading orchestras around the globe. He has made hundreds of critically praised and award- winning recordings, and has appeared extensively on European and American television. His versatility as a conductor, composer, violinist, television director and entertainer, administrator, and writer has won him the respect and affection of an interna-tional public. During his distinguished career he has held such prestigious posts as Artistic Director of the West Berlin Opera Company and Music Director of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (1965-71), Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra (1972-82), Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of London (1976- 80), General Manager and Artistic Director of the National Orchestra of France (1988-90). Artistic leader of the Pittsburgh Symphony since 1984, he became the Orchestra's Music Director beginning with the 1988-89 season. Maestro Maazel's current contract with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra extends through 1995-96, the Orchestra's Centennial season. Maestro Maazel also is the music director of the Symphony Orchestra of Bavarian Radio in Munich.

In the U.S., besides conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony in its regular subscription concerts in Heinz Hall, Maestro Maazel regularly takes the Orchestra to the East Coast for New York appearances in venues, which include the United Nations, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Other domestic tours included a well-received two-week tour of the southeastern United States in February 1989. Internationally, he has led the PSO on seven overseas tours; a four-week European summer music festival tour which included a historic first visit to the People's Republic of China, a residency Edinburgh Festival in Scotland in August 1987, four-weeks in Europe-including dates in the Soviet Union and Poland-in October 1989, a three-week trip to the Far East in May-June 1989 which included engagements in Japan, Hong Kong and PSO debut concerts in Taiwan, a three-week tour of major European music capitals in the spring of 1992, and a three and one-half week tour of leading European summer music festivals in August 1992.

Lorin Maazel also has conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony on recordings made for New World, Telarc and Sony Classical labels. He has made hundreds of highly acclaimed recordings, including the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Cleveland Orchestra (Sony Classical), a Mahler cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic (Sony Classical), a Rachmaninoff cycle with the Berlin Philharmo-nic (Deutsche Grammophon), and the first act of Wagner's Die Walkure with the Pittsburgh Symphony (Telarc). The recipient of ten Grand Prix du Disque awards, he is presently participating in a CBS Masterworks Puccini cycle at La Scala. Maazel has become increasingly involved in television and film production, writing and directing visualizations for television of Holst's The Planets and Vivaldi's The Four Seasons (distributed on videocassette by MGM). Having conducted at all the world's most distinguished opera houses, Maestro Maazel currently conducts opera exclusively at La Scala. He also has conducted La Scala opera performances in Japan and the Soviet Union. His opera films, the Losey Don Giovanni and the Rosi Carmen, have broken new ground in the popularization of opera. For videocassette he has filmed Turan-dot at the Vienna State Opera as well as Aida and Madame Butter-fly at La Scala. One of his most recent operatic triumphs was a concert performance of Strauss' Elektra, in which he led the Vienna Philharmonic during the 1990-91 centennial season of New York's Carnegie Hall. Early in 1992 he conducted U.S. perfor-mances of the Vienna Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center as part of that Orchestra's 150th Anniversary Tour.

Lorin Maazel was born in Paris in 1930 of American parents and was brought to the United States as a child. He studied conducting with Vladimir Bakaleinikoff in Pittsburgh and, at age nine, he appeared as conductor at the New York World's Fair. At age sixteen Maazel entered the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied philosophy and literature. Subsequently, he joined the violin section of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Later, while he was studying in Europe on a Fulbright Scholarship, Maazel made his professional conducting debut in Italy in 1953. Six years later he achieved international status by becoming the youngest conduc-tor at the Bayreuth Festival.

Notable among the innumerable decorations, honorary doctor-ates, recording prizes, and awards for achievement with which Maestro Maazel has been honored are the Commander's Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Legion of Honor of France, and the Commander of the Lion of Finland. He also has been awarded the title of "Ambassador of Good Will" by the United Nations. He was named an honorary life member of the Israel Philharmonic in 1985, when he conducted its Fortieth Anniversary concert.