Conductor Herbert Blomstedt dies at 99, La Scala pays homage

Herbert Blostedl, a magnetic conductor who in his over 70-year career conducted in all the main theaters of the world, has died in Gothenburg at the age of 99, leaving important interpretations especially of authors such as Brahms, Bruckner and Schuman, as well as Mahler, whose Ninth Symphony he conducted only last spring with the San Francisco Opera. He would have liked to celebrate his hundredth anniversary by conducting, but in September he was forced to cancel the concerts scheduled with the Oslo Philharmonic, of which he was conductor emeritus, for this November.

The homage of La Scala

After winning the 1953 Koyssevitsky conducting competition, Blomstedl began working in Sweden and abroad: from 1975 to 1985 he led the Staatskapelle Dresden, from 1985 to 1995 he was music director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and from 1998 to 2005 chief conductor of the GewanDhaus Orchester in Leipzig. "I remember Herbert Blomstedt's combination of musical rigor and a boyish enthusiasm that contrasted with his advanced age," said Riccardo Chailly, who succeeded him at the helm of the Gewandhaus. "It was then that I had the opportunity to attend his rehearsals, and in the preparation of Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss I was struck by his ability to penetrate such a complex score while maintaining youthful freshness and enthusiasm. In a wide repertoire, and in particular in Strauss and Bruckner - he added -, Blomstedt left an interpretative mark of great importance. At La Scala he made his debut conducting Bruckner's Ninth". And La Scala itself - where he made his debut in November 2015, with the Symphony n. Schubert's Unfinished 7 and Symphony No. 9 by Bruckner, before returning in June 2018 with Symphony n. 9 by Mahler - has decided to pay homage to him by dedicating to him the three performances of Bruckner's Ninth conducted by Riccardo Chailly scheduled for 16, 17 and 20 November.