LEONARD SLATKIN

CONDUCTOR | COMPOSER | AUTHOR

LEONARD SLATKIN

CONDUCTOR | COMPOSER | AUTHOR

Interesting album covers from the Columbia Masterworks series, No. 2: ... See MoreSee Less

We now return to our regularly scheduled set of interesting record album covers. This first set comes from Columbia, and in particular, the Masterworks series. Perhaps some of you remember these. No. 1: ... See MoreSee Less

2024: To wrap up the series, there is an album that contains music written and conducted by my son, Daniel. The film was a documentary about the bankruptcy in Detroit. I am certain that he will continue this timeline. These covers celebrate my 80th birthday on Sept. 1, tracing the history of the Slatkin family through their recordings. ... See MoreSee Less

2023: Another release of a John Williams concerto featuring principal players from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Hunter Eberly delivered this with astonishing ease and a keen understanding of all the demands made by the composer. These covers celebrate my 80th birthday on Sept. 1, tracing the history of the Slatkin family through their recordings. ... See MoreSee Less

2022: This recording is special to my heart, as it features virtually all the members of the Slatkin family, including my wife, son, father, and mother, on one album. With an appearance by Alec Baldwin as well as some rare material from the 1940s, this one is indeed unique. These covers celebrate my 80th birthday on Sept. 1, tracing the history of the Slatkin family through their recordings. ... See MoreSee Less

2022: I began a working relationship with composer @jeffbealmusic several years ago, and this marked our first recording together. “The Paper Lined Shack” is a song cycle featuring the incredible @hilaplitmann. It was appropriate that the other work utilized the New Hollywood String Quartet. These covers celebrate my 80th birthday on Sept. 1, tracing the history of the Slatkin family through their recordings. ... See MoreSee Less

Interesting album covers from the Columbia Masterworks series, No. 2: ... See MoreSee Less

LATEST NEWS

Slatkin Returns to Japan to Conduct in Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima
By leonard slatkin
January 13, 2025

Leonard is preparing for concerts with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra January 14-15 in Suntory Hall. The program includes Cindy McTee’s Adagio for Strings, Walton’s Violin Concerto, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2.

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leonard slatkin
Flying Blind: A Conductor’s Guide to Taking an Audition
By leonard slatkin
December 16, 2024

Leonard Slatkin shares his perspective on how string players should best approach a blind orchestral audition in a series of articles for The Strad.

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leonard slatkin

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MARCH 2025

By leonard slatkin

Sometimes a month can go by with just a little musical activity but can still be packed full with events of interest. Actually, I need to go back to the final week of January because I did not have time to write about the conclusion of the Asian trip last time. Here is the summary:

An engagement in Hiroshima followed my concerts in Osaka. The Hiroshima Symphony is another fine orchestra with great energy and wonderful discipline. Since we had success working together three years ago on Mahler 6, the orchestra asked for another symphony by the Austrian master. This time, we settled on Mahler’s First Symphony, and it was clear from the first rehearsal that we were going to achieve great things.

Leonard Slatkin

Internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin is Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), Directeur Musical Honoraire of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL), Conductor Laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, and Artistic Consultant to the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He maintains a rigorous schedule of guest conducting and is active as a composer, author, and educator.

A six-time Grammy winner and recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Slatkin also holds the rank of Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor. He has been awarded the Prix Charbonnier from the Federation of Alliances Françaises, Austria’s Decoration of Honor in Silver, and the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton. He received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Special Recognition Award for his debut book, Conducting Business (2012), which was followed by Leading Tones (2017) and Classical Crossroads: The Path Forward for Music in the 21^st Century (2021). His latest books are Eight Symphonic Masterworks of the Twentieth Century (Rowman & Littlefield, spring 2024) and Eight Symphonic Masterworks of the Nineteenth Century (fall 2024), comprising essays that supplement the score-study process.

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