Michael, Herman

Herman Michael ( German: Hermann Michael ; March 24, 1937 , Schwäbisch Gmund - September 1, 2005 , Uffing am Staffelsee ) - German conductor.

He graduated from the Stuttgart Higher School of Music , where he studied violin and piano. In 1960, he listened to a master class by Herbert von Karayan in Berlin, after which, according to legend, he told Karayan that he could also conduct. Karayan allegedly gave the young musician a score in the Fifth Symphony by Jan Sibelius , telling him to conduct it the next day; Michael did just that, earning the approval of a mentor. Then he spent three weeks under the guidance of Hans Swarovski , after which in 1961 he won the first Guido Cantelli conductors competition . Following this, Karayan invited Michael to take the place of his assistant at the Vienna State Opera . In 1970-1978 He worked at the Bremen Opera, in 1977-1991. Chief Conductor of the Haydn Orchestra in Bolzano . In 1984 he made his debut in the USA with Richard Wagner’s opera “ Tannhauser ” in Seattle , after which he performed in this city constantly, especially often with a Wagnerian repertoire. He has toured in other cities of the United States, including performances at the Metropolitan Opera (including Beethoven 's Fidelio and Strauss 's Bat ), and in 1997-2004. led the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra . Until 2000, he also taught at the Munich Higher School of Music ; among his students, in particular, Franz Welser-Möst and Marcus Poschner .