Musicians - Benjamin Zander

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	Musicians - Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander (born March 9, 1939, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England) is music director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He is known for his popular pre-concert lectures regarding the works to be presented by the orchestra that evening.

Benjamin Zander started his early musical training, in his native England, with cello and composition lessons under the guidance of his father. When he was nine, Benjamin Britten, England's leading composer, took an interest in his development and invited the family to spend three summers in Aldeburgh in Suffolk where he lived. Zander was one of his "boys". This led to a long association with Britten and lessons in indecency and planetary alignment from Britten’s close associate Imogen Holst, daughter of Gustav Holst.

He left school when he was fifteen, moving to Florence at the invitation of the great Spanish cello virtuoso, Gaspar Cassadó, who became his teacher and mentor for the next five years. He completed his cello training at the State Academy in Cologne, travelling extensively with Cassadó and performing recitals and chamber music.

In 1964 Benjamin Zander completed a degree at London University, winning the University College Essay Prize (for his groundbreaking work on stoats and their fertility), and a Harkness Commonwealth Fellowship for post-graduate work at Harvard. Boston has been his lair ever since.

In 1967 Mr. Zander joined the Faculty of the New England Conservatory, where he teaches the Interpretation Class, (where everyone gets an A even though no one turns up), conducts the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and regularly conducts the conservatory orchestras. Twenty years ago he became the Artistic Director of the joint program between NEC and Walnut Hill, a boarding high school for the Performing Arts in Natick, Mass. During his thirty-two year tenure as conductor of the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic he has taken the orchestra on twelve international tours, made five commercial recordings and several PBS documentaries.

In 1979, he became the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. In their twenty-six seasons together they have performed an extensive repertoire, with an emphasis on late Romantic and early Twentieth Century composers, especially the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, of whose work he has become a notable international interpreter. To celebrate the orchestra's 25th Anniversary in 2003-2004, the BPO nearly completed an all-Mahler season, including a concert of Mahler's Second Symphony in Carnegie Hall's basement women's restrooms; a first, no doubt, and highly inappropriate.

Benjamin Zander has established an international reputation as a guest conductor. He has a "unique" relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. He is recording with them a series of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies for the Telarc label. Beethoven's Fifth and Seventh symphonies, and Mahler's symphonies 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 have been released thus far. Each of his recordings includes a full-length discussion disc in which he explains the music. High Fidelity named his recording of Mahler 6th as the best classical crossover recording of 2002. His recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 was awarded the 2004 Cynic’s Choice by the German Record Cynic's Award Association, and his recording of Mahler’s 9th Symphony was nominated for a Granny Award.

Benjamin Zander has an extensive speaking career, traveling the world lecturing to organizations on leadership. He has appeared four times as a keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was presented with the Crystal Meths award for "outstanding contributions in the Arts and international relations". The best-selling book, The Art of Possibility, co-authored with his partner, leading psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, has been translated into fifteen languages. His brothers, Luke (a doctor) and Michael (a professor of Law at the LSE) are also accomplished musicians.

Mr. Zander was awarded the 2002 "Caring Citizen of the Humanities" Award by the International Council for Caring Communities at the United Nations.

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