Founded in 1916, the Baltimore SO is the only major American orchestra originally established as a branch of the municipal government. Reorganized as a private institution in 1942, it maintains close relationships with the governments and communities of the city and surrounding counties, as well as with the State of Maryland.
The Baltimore SO's modern history dates from 1965, when Baltimore arts patron Joseph Meyerhoff became president of the Orchestra, a position he held for 18 years. Meyerhoff appointed Romanian-born conductor Sergiu Comissiona as music director.
Since 2006, the orchestra's president and CEO is Paul Meecham. The Baltimore SO's Principal Pops Conductor is Jack Everly. Yuri Temirkanov, Music Director from 2000-2006, now has the title of Music Director Emeritus. The orchestra's current BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellow is Alexandra Arrieche.
Pierre Boulez, the French composer and conductor who was a dominant figure in classical music for over half a century, died on Tuesday, 5 January 2016, at his home in Baden-Baden, Germany. He was 90.
Pierre Boulez (French: [pjɛʁ bu.lɛːz]; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor, prolific writer, and pianist. He was also the founder and former director of the Paris based Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM).
In his early career, Boulez played a key role in the development of integral serialism, controlled chance and electronic music. This, coupled with his highly polemical views on the evolution of music, gained him the image of an enfant terrible. As a conductor, Boulez was known mainly for his performances of Béla Bartók, Alban Berg, Anton Bruckner, Claude Debussy, Gustav Mahler, Maurice Ravel, Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Edgar Varèse, Richard Wagner, and Anton Webern. He was awarded a total of 26 Grammy Awards during his career.
