Carlo Maria Giulini

Carlo Maria Giulini was one of the great conductors of the second half of the 20th century, whose gentle, spiritual approach to the music set him apart, whether in the opera house or the concert hall. Born in southern Italy in 1914, he started his professional life as orchestral viola player, playing for such conductors as Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Victor de Sabata and Richard Strauss. He also studied conducting and in 1944 was invited to conduct Rome's Augusteo Orchestra (now the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia) after which his career on the podium took off. Soon he was conducting many of the world's great orchestras and European opera companies: he was Music Director of La Scala, Milan for five years from 1953) and was closely associated early in his career with London's newly founded Philharmonia Orchestra. Giulini's chosen repertoire was relatively small and quite selective (he only conducted two Mahler symphonies, for example) but was notable for favouring works of intensity and spiritual depth; he was a great Bruckner conductor and was celebrated for his Brahms (he performed Brahms's Fourth Symphony more than any other work). Among the orchestras he was closely associated with were the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, whose Music Director he was from 1978 to 1984 and with whom he recorded some classic albums – including Beethoven's "Eroica" and Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" symphonies. He was a frequent guest conductor of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, often recording with them. After 14 years during which he conducted no opera due to his disenchantment with the demands and lack of rehearsal time imposed by the theatres, he was lured back into the studio, leaving impressive recordings of Verdi's Il trovatore, Rigoletto and Falstaff. A gentle, undemonstrative man, Giulini's approach to music-making was collegial, probing and focused entirely on conveying the composer's intentions. He retired from the podium in 1998 after a career spanning 54 years, though he would still occasionally work with Milan's Giuseppe Verdi SO out of the public's gaze. He died, aged 91, in June 2005.