In memoriam Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is profoundly saddened by the death of the great Spanish conductor, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, who conducted the orchestra annually at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood from August 2000 until his most recent appearances last November. In addition, he worked regularly with the fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center and enjoyed a special relationship with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
Born in Burgos, Spain, in 1933, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos studied violin, piano, music theory, and composition at the conservatories in Bilbao and Madrid, and conducting at Munich’s Hochschule für Musik, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Richard Strauss Prize. From 2004 to 2011, he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Dresden Philharmonic; in the 2012-13 season he assumed his post as chief conductor of the Danish National Orchestra. He made extensive tours with such ensembles as the Philharmonia of London, the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Madrid, and the Swedish Radio Orchestra, and toured North America with the Vienna Symphony, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Named Conductor of the Year by Musical America in 2011, he received numerous other honors and distinctions, among them the Gold Medal of the City of Vienna, the Bundes-verdi-en-stkreuz of the Republic of Austria and Germany, the Gold Medal from the Gustav Mahler International Society, and the Jacinto Guerrero Prize, Spain’s most important musical award, conferred in 1997 by the Queen of Spain. In 1998 Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was appointed Emeritus Conductor by the Spanish National Orchestra. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Navarra in Spain and since 1975 was a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos recorded extensively for EMI, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Columbia (Spain), and Orfeo, including acclaimed releases of Mendelssohn’s Elijah and St. Paul, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina burana, Bizet’s Carmen, and the complete works of Manuel de Falla. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut in January 1971.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is profoundly saddened by the death of the great Spanish conductor, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, who conducted the orchestra annually at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood from August 2000 until his most recent appearances last November. In addition, he worked regularly with the fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center and enjoyed a special relationship with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
Born in Burgos, Spain, in 1933, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos studied violin, piano, music theory, and composition at the conservatories in Bilbao and Madrid, and conducting at Munich’s Hochschule für Musik, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Richard Strauss Prize. From 2004 to 2011, he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Dresden Philharmonic; in the 2012-13 season he assumed his post as chief conductor of the Danish National Orchestra. He made extensive tours with such ensembles as the Philharmonia of London, the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Madrid, and the Swedish Radio Orchestra, and toured North America with the Vienna Symphony, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Named Conductor of the Year by Musical America in 2011, he received numerous other honors and distinctions, among them the Gold Medal of the City of Vienna, the Bundes-verdi-en-stkreuz of the Republic of Austria and Germany, the Gold Medal from the Gustav Mahler International Society, and the Jacinto Guerrero Prize, Spain’s most important musical award, conferred in 1997 by the Queen of Spain. In 1998 Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was appointed Emeritus Conductor by the Spanish National Orchestra. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Navarra in Spain and since 1975 was a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos recorded extensively for EMI, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Columbia (Spain), and Orfeo, including acclaimed releases of Mendelssohn’s Elijah and St. Paul, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina burana, Bizet’s Carmen, and the complete works of Manuel de Falla. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut in January 1971.
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