Christian Zacharias
Christian Zacharias, conductor-pianist
BIOGRAPHY
Christian Zacharias is a remarkable musical explorer – as both a conductor and pianist, he is known for his uncompromising individuality and thoughtful approach to concert programming. The New York Times described his elegance in performance, reporting, "Playing and conducting became two aspects of an organic whole: a gesture of the pianist's hand, coming off a run of notes like water, became a conductor's flourish, passing the idea to the strings, then reclaiming it again for the keyboard in a second movement that shimmered with the surface tension of stopped time."
The Los Angeles Times has raved, "He is a tasteful, satisfying player who shapes every phrase with subtle, personal nuances and has an electric sense of rhythm . . . Watching him conduct seemed almost like spying on a visual artist; his gestures are reminiscent of a painter applying oils and of a sculptor molding materials . . . he acts as though the music were a physical substance to be molded in air, his hands, body, face all employed to shape phrases."
Zacharias launched his conducting career in 1992 with a debut with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and has since been a regular guest of all of the major European orchestras. In 2000, he made his US conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and in 2006 conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time. Since then, he has led many of the top American orchestras.
Zacharias maintains an ongoing relationship with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, is Artistic Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra's annual Mozart Festival, and is Principal Guest Conductor of the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra. He is an Artistic Partner of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra until 2012, and has been the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne since 2000. In 2006, he conducted Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at the Geneva Opera House, and in 2008 conducted Offenbach's La Belle Hélène with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.
Christian Zacharias is one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. He achieved international attention as prizewinner in the Geneva Competition in 1969 and the Van Cliburn Competition in 1973. In 1975, he won First Prize in the Ravel Competition in Paris and began an international career with recitals at major international venues, award-winning recordings, and concerts with the world's leading orchestras and conductors. Christian Zacharias also appears in chamber music recitals with partners such as the Alban Berg Quartet, the Leipzig String Quartet, Heinrich Schiff, and Frank Peter Zimmermann.
Highlights of Zacharias' 2009-2010 season include a Haydn project with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in Ascona and Bukarest, and an extended European recital tour with concerts in London, Paris, Brussels, Zurich, Madrid, Rome, and Geneva. In addition to performing as piano soloist and conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall in March, he will also perform and conduct in Detroit with the Detroit Symphony. In April he makes his debut conducting the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Further engagements take him to both perform with and conduct the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestras, Gothenburg Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Santa Cecilia, among others. He will also perform as piano soloist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. During the 2010-2011 season, he will return to the U.S. to perform with and conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Christian Zacharias recorded with EMI until 1997 and since then has recorded for Musikproduktion Dabringhaus and Grimm (MDG). Among his many recordings are numerous award winners. His recording of Mozart Fantasies, Rondos, and other piano pieces (MDG 340 0961-2) was awarded the prestigious Diapason d'Or in France. Vol. IV of his recordings of Mozart's Piano Concertos with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (MDG 940 1529-6) was honored with the Diapason d'Or Award in France, Le Choc du Monde de la Musique, and a 2009 ECHO Klassik Award (known as the German equivalent of the Grammys). Vol. III of the same series (MDG 940 1488-6) also received an ECHO Klassik Award in 2008. In 2007, Zacharias was awarded the MIDEM Classical Award for "Artist of the Year" in Cannes.
In addition to his performing career, Christian Zacharias regularly participates in the production of radio programs and documentary films. His films include Domenico Scarlatti in Seville and Robert Schumann, the Poet Speaks for INA, Paris; Between the Stage and the Greenroom for WDR-arte; and Zacharias, Scarlatti, Avison et les autres for TSR. An avid modern art collector, Zacharias' collection includes pieces by Paul Klee, Meret Openheim, Louise Bourgeois, Opalka, and Bill Traylor.
Zacharias was born in India in 1950 and studied in Germany and France. He splits his time between London, Cologne, and Lausanne.
