Carlos Kalmar

Summary

Carlos Kalmar (born February 26, 1958, in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan conductor.[1]

Carlos Kalmar
Carlos Kalmar, shown here rehearsing with the Grant Park Festival orchestra in Chicago.
Background information
Born (1958-02-26) February 26, 1958 (age 66)
Montevideo, Uruguay
OccupationsConductor

Biography edit

Kalmar began violin studies at age six. At age fifteen, he enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music where his conducting teacher was Karl Österreicher. In 1984, he won first prize in the Hans Swarowsky Conducting Competition in Vienna. Kalmar has been music director of the Hamburger Symphoniker (1987–91), the Stuttgart Philharmonic (1991–95), and the Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau. He was principal conductor of the Tonkünstlerorchester, Vienna, from 2000 to 2003.

In the USA, Kalmar has served the principal conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago since 2000. He is also music director of the Oregon Symphony, since 2003. In April 2008, the orchestra announced the extension of Kalmar's contract as music director to the 2012–13 season. In February 2020, the Oregon Symphony announced that Kalmar is to conclude his music directorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2020-2021 season.[2][3][4] In May 2021, the Cleveland Institute of Music announced the appointment of Kalmar as its next director of orchestral studies, effective 1 July 2021.[5] As of May 2023, Kalmar is being investigated for alleged Title IX violations at the Cleveland Institute of Music.[6][7] These allegations were later found to be erroneous, and the conductor has a lawsuit in progress for damage to reputation against CIM, whose Title IX coordinator was fired in the aftermath. [8]

Kalmar currently lives with his second wife, Raffaela, a violinist and nurse, and their two sons, Luca and Claudio, in Shaker Heights, Ohio. [9] Kalmar was born to Jewish immigrant parents from Austria.[10]

Recordings edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Macaluso, p. 194
  2. ^ "Oregon Symphony Announces 2020-21 Season, Celebrating Famed Conductor Carlos Kalmar's Final Year As Music Director" (Press release). Oregon Symphony. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  3. ^ Joe Ranieri (6 February 2020). "Oregon Symphony music director to step down after 2020-2021 season". KGW 8. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  4. ^ Douglas Perry (2020-02-07). "Oregon Symphony announces ambitious 2020-21 season, music director Carlos Kalmar's last; Wynton Marsalis on tap". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  5. ^ "Carlos Kalmar Named Director of Orchestral & Conducting Programs and Principal Conductor" (Press release). Cleveland Institute of Music. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  6. ^ Kabir Bhatia (2023-05-01). "Cleveland Institute of Music investigating allegations of inappropriate behavior". Ideastream Public Media. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  7. ^ Hannah Edgar (2023-05-03). "Grant Park Music Fest conductor Carlos Kalmar is investigated at Cleveland Institute of Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  8. ^ https://www.wweek.com/music/2023/08/18/former-oregon-symphony-conductor-carlos-kalmar-cleared-in-title-ix-investigation/
  9. ^ David Stablet (2011-02-19). "Carlos Kalmar brings fierce focus to the Oregon Symphony, but at a cost". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  10. ^ Amy Wang (2017-02-01). "Oregon Symphony conductor shares his immigration story". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2021-05-12.

References edit

  • Macaluso, Tony; Julia S. Bachrach & Neal Samors (2009). Sounds of Chicago's Lakefront: A Celebration Of The Grant Park Music Festival. Chicago's Book Press. ISBN 978-0-9797892-6-7.

External links edit

  • Seldy Cramer Artists agency page on Carlos Kalmar
  • Oregon Symphony biography of Carlos Kalmar
  • Grant Park Music Festival, conductors biography page
  • Bruce Duffie, Interview with Carlos Kalmar, July 12, 1999
  • Oregon Art Beat: Conductor Carlos Kalmar's 10th Anniversary
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Heribert Beissel
Chief Conductor, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra
1987–1991
Succeeded by
Miguel Gómez-Martinez
Preceded by Chief Conductor, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra
1991−1995
Succeeded by
Preceded by Music Director, Oregon Symphony
2003–2021
Succeeded by