Sergiu comissiona biography examples
Sergiu Comissiona
Conductor and violinist
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Sergiu Comissiona (Hebrew: סרג'ו קומיסיונה; June 16, – March 5, ) was a Romanian-Israeli-Americanconductor and violinist.
Biography
Early life
Born in Bucharest, Romania in a Jewish family, he began violin studies at the age of five, was hired as a violinist by the Romanian State Ensemble while still in his teens, making his conducting debut at the age of In his twenties he was named principal conductor of the Romanian National Opera, which he led from to
Career
He fled the Communist regime in and emigrated to Israel. In he founded the Ramat Gan Chamber Orchestra, which he led until He also directed the Haifa Symphony from until He made his American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in and emigrated to the United States in Later he was also music director of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Sweden, from to , and became chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in Hilversum, Netherlands, in He was the enlightment figure of leading the invigorating and thundering audience of Hommage á Sibelius with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra Comissiona also held music directorships with some of North America's leading ensembles, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and was also music director of the New York City Opera. Beginning in he spent 15 years with the Baltimore Orchestra and transformed it from a little-known ensemble into a nationally respected orchestra, eventually taking it on its first international tour and directing it in its first recordings. He was also the Music Director of the Asian Youth Orchestra. Comissiona was principal conductor of the Spanish national broadcasting network orchestra in Madrid, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, from to
From until his death, Comissiona served as the conductor of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music Symphony [1]
World premiere and other notable performances
He premiered and made the first recordings of a number of modern works including symphonies by Allan Pettersson, who dedicated his Symphony No. 9 to him, as well as works by Michael Jeffrey Shapiro and Elie Siegmeister. Comissiona conducted Siegmeister's An Entertainment for Violin, Piano, and Orchestra at the Merriwether Post Pavilion on July 2, with Ann Saslav, piano, and Isidor Saslav, the BSO's concertmaster, as soloists. The Saslavs had commissioned the work from Siegmeister.
In , Comissiona conducted the first performance of Rued Langgaard's Music of the Spheres in 46 years (since ), which ignited a renaissance for Langgaard's music.[2]
Personal life
Comissiona and his wife became American citizens on July 4, , at a special Bicentennial ceremony at Fort McHenry on Baltimore Harbor. He was a longtime resident of New York City. He died of a heart attack in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma just hours before he was to perform.
Honours and awards
He was made a Knight of l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France; received a Mus D. honoris causa from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts; was an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and founder national competition for young American conductors of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
References
Further reading
- Burcescu, Cecilia (). A Romanian Rhapsody: The Life of Conductor Sergiu Comissiona. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN&#;.