Русская версияMasur has been a leading conductor for over four decades.
Deep in
concentration but in constant eye contact with the musicians while
on stage, he has a way of drawing the music out of his orchestra
with spare but energetic gestures.
Intensity, passion and energy exude from the 81-year-old when he
takes up his baton.
Born in 1927 in Silesia, now part of Poland, Masur studied music
and conducting in Leipzig but didn't finish to receive his diploma.
Nevertheless, he gathered extensive experience on the stages of the
former East Germany, conducting and working as a vocal coach in
Halle, Erfurt, Schwerin and at the Comic Opera in East Berlin.
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DW offers live recordings of Masur conducting Beethoven
In 1967, at the age of 40, Masur became director of the Dresden
Philharmonic Orchestra. Three years later he returned to Leipzig,
which would become the most significant station in his career.
Spokesman for democracy
As the music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Masur
quickly became one of the most celebrated conductors in East
Germany. He led the ensemble on numerous tours, performing in over
900 concerts between 1970 and 1997.
As the Soviet Union began to crumble in the late 1980s, Leipzig
became a center of political protest in communist East Germany.
Masur made his voice heard as well, joining in the famous Monday
Demonstrations.
"Our common concerns and responsibility have brought us together
today," the conductor said in front of the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig
on a Monday in 1989.
"We are affected by the developments in our city and are looking
for a solution," said Masur, addressing the government. "We
urgently ask you to be prudent, so that peaceful dialogue is
possible."
Music for lonely people
In 1991, Masur left his newly reunified country to direct the New
York Philharmonic, succeeding Zubin Mehta. Over the next 11 years,
he developed a special program structure that not only appealed to
New Yorkers, but went over well across the country.
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New York is full of lonely people, concluded Masur
He said he discovered his secret while taking a walk in the Big
Apple.
"I found out that New York is actually full of lonely people, and I
decided to make my programs so that everyone who came to the
concert would feel at home," he said.
Masur has since moved his workplace from the Hudson River to the
Seine -- with a layover on the Thames as principal conductor of the
London Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 to 2007 -- and now directs
the Orchestre National de France. Thoughts of retirement seem to be
far from his mind.
"I hope that I can cut back slowly," he said. "If I stop tomorrow,
you'll certainly be reading my obituary pretty soon because music
is part of my life."
(Deutsche Welle)
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