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Leonard Slatkin

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Leonard Slatkin is an American conductor, author and composer, born in Los Angeles in 1944. He came from a musical family: his father Felix was a violinist and conductor, and his mother Eleanor Aller a cellist, both members of the Hollywood String Quartet. Slatkin studied in Indiana and at the Juilliard School, made his conducting debut in 1966 and became an assistant at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1968. He returned there in 1979 as music director. Under his leadership the orchestra grew into one of the best-known in America.

Music and breakthrough

With that orchestra he made many recordings for labels such as RCA and EMI. In 1985 he recorded Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, the first complete recording of that work on CD. His discography also includes Gershwin, Ravel, Debussy, Barber and Mussorgsky. In 1984 he won a Grammy for Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony. Later he led the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre National de Lyon. In 2001 he conducted the Last Night of the Proms.

Influence

Slatkin is known for his attention to twentieth-century American and British composers. For pop listeners he is above all the man behind many classical recordings that served as a reference for decades, and his work shows how the orchestral repertoire had a market of its own in the record industry.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to his recording of The Nutcracker and notice how clearly each section of the orchestra can be heard. Try to follow the flute, the strings and the percussion separately.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists