Career
Mander conducted his first important concert at the Teatro della Fenice in Venice in 1942, after a period of apprenticeship at the same theatre. It was the beginning of a long career, which brought him in front of many of the most important orchestras worldwide.
In 1948 he was appointed principal conductor of the Orquesta Sinfònica de Madrid, taking it on extended tours through Spain and Portugal, conducting concerts in all the most important cities.
By 1955 he had become a well-known and appreciated guest in many countries: "Exceptional" is the comment of composer and critic Richard de Guide in. The same adjective was used by many others in cities such as London:"A formidable conductor". Or: Mr. Mander proved himself a master of his players....He achieved a remarkable dramatic response from the LPO... A first rate musician. All in all, his Beethoven "V" Symphony was an exceptional performance). And Paris: Avec Mander l'O.N. brille dès les premières notes.
With the same enthusiasm he was acclaimed in Milan, Moscow, Budapest, Sydney, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Chicago, New York, Johannesburg, Buenos Aires, St Petersburg, and others.
In 1957 he toured the United States and Canada for three months conducting the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentina of Florence. That same year he leads the USSR State Orchestra in Moscow. From 1969 till 1976 he was chief conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of the South African Broadcasting Corporation in Johannesburg, in the mean time keeping up a busy concert schedule abroad.
Back in Europe, Mander and his wife retired to Latisana in the Friuli region, in northern Italy, the region of his ancestors (the name Mander goes back to 1378 in the R.K. Church archives of a tiny village, Solimbergo, a little further north from Latisana). From Friuli he continued his career, albeit in a more relaxed way.
During this period he also started writing more seriously. In the sixties he had already collaborated with several magazines, writing articles such as "The importance of music in Dante's Divina Commedia", published in Elsinore, April 1964, Elsinore Editrice. His literary production consists of three novels and numerous short stories. Two of them, titled "Due racconti" have been published by Editrice.i.l.a. Palma, (Palermo, Italy and São Paulo, Brazil) in the "Meridiana" series.
Read more about this topic: Francesco Mander
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“Work-family conflicts—the trade-offs of your money or your life, your job or your child—would not be forced upon women with such sanguine disregard if men experienced the same career stalls caused by the-buck-stops-here responsibility for children.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)