David Zinman

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David Zinman is one of the world’s most respected conductors. During his long career he has worked with all of the leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic.

He has held music director posts with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (1964-77), Rotterdam Philharmonic (1979-82), Rochester Philharmonic (1974-85), Baltimore Symphony (1985-98), Aspen Music Festival (1985-2009), Zurich Tonhalle (1985-2014) and Orchestre Francais des Jeunes (2015-16).

He is renowned for his enthusiasm for new music, new ways of performing, and making classical music more accessible to a younger audience. In Zurich he founded the ‘Tonhalle Late’ concert series, in which a shorter-length symphonic concert is followed by a party.

David Zinman’s extensive discography of over 100 recordings has earned him numerous international honours, particularly for his interpretation of Beethoven’s symphonies with the Zurich Tonhalle, including five Grammy Awards, two Grands Prix du Disque, two Edison Prizes, the German Record Critics’ Prize and a Gramophone Award.

The 2019/20 season included appearances with the Hessische Rundfunk Symphonieorchester Frankfurt and Konzerthausorchester Berlin, as well as returning to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich. Engagements with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and Dresdner Philharmonie and further concerts with the Zurich Tonhalle were postponed due to the pandemic.

Dedicated to furthering the careers of young musicians, in 2000 he created the International Conducting Academy at Aspen, and in 2010 inaugurated the first Annual International Conducting Masterclass at Zurich Tonhalle. He continues to run conducting masterclasses around the world, most recently at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and the Royal Academy of Music in London.

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Selected reviews

“David Zinman's superb recording [of Strauss's Symphonia Domestica] with the Tonhalle Orchestra is the finest of recent accounts... The opening sections are full of wit and lightness, the Adagio has a grandeur and sweep, and the finale is a roller coaster that delivers the thrills without risking running off the rails - and it's one of the few modern recordings to match Strauss's tempo in the final minutes. Above all, it's an immensely enjoyable recording that might force the work's doubters to give it another chance, and that might cause those who admire it to fall for it anew.” - Hugo Shirley, Gramophone Magazine, December 2019

“Zinman conducted without the score, which of course is always impressive. His artistic way of conducting included his intention of simple and clear gestures answered by the orchestra. He guided the beautiful and prolonged phrases in the music with grace and zeal.” - Jordan Buchholtz, KC Metropolis, February 27th 2018

“Zinman knew exactly how to harness Bruckner's tricky universe... every motion made musical sense. Throughout the hour-long journey, his view was relaxed and warm, and tempos were unhurried. And despite bringing out details, he never lost sight of the arc of the hour-long symphony.” - Janelle Gelfand, Cincinatti Enquirer, April 21st 2016

“All three works were performed with the intelligence and emotional refinement that are integral to Zinman's style.Zinman's understanding of Strauss's need to balance narrative and sentiment with classical structure was exceptional, and the logic of the underlying rondo was delineated with considerable clarity. His interpretation of the Beethoven, similarly, placed due weight on its careful transmutations of symphonic structure, without for a second losing sight of its emotional trajectory. This beautiful Prom was a superb example of his musicianship.” - Tim Ashley, The Guardian, July 22nd 2014

“No one else conducts Beethoven quite like this and, as the audience rises to its feet cheering at the conclusion of the Symphony No 7, I reflect that I have rarely heard the NYPO [New York Philharmonic Orchestra] play better – and I am sure I have never heard them sound less like the NYPO. They have indeed found another voice. This is exciting, freshly minted playing, without any hint of technique for its own sake. Once again, the perpetually youthful David Zinman has demonstrated how energy begets energy. As they might say in New York, Bronx-born David Zinman is a true home-town hero.” - Martin Cullingford, Gramophone Magazine, March 18th 2012