The music world is mourning the death yesterday of the conductor Yakov Kreizberg, who has died at the age of only 51. Here is the statement from his manager, Linda Marks of Harrison Parrott:
It is with deep sorrow that we must announce the passing of conductor Yakov Kreizberg on 15 March 2011. He died peacefully after a long illness – borne with great courage, fortitude and determination – at his home in Monte Carlo, surrounded by his wife and two sons. He was aged only 51.
Yakov Kreizberg was one of the most interesting and exciting conductors of his generation. He was widely sought-after by the world's leading orchestras, and held posts with the Theater Krefeld Mönchengladbach, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Komische Oper in Berlin and the Wiener Symphoniker.
At the time of his death he was the Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Netherlands Chamber Orchestras. He led them on many highly successful tours and leaves behind a number of great recordings.
He conducted his very last concert with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra on 14 February 2011 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The programme consisted of Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2 with soloist Alexander Sitkovetsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.
Yakov Kreizberg was appointed Artistic Director of L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo in January 2008, and subsequently Artistic Director and Music Director in September 2009. Although his time with them was cut short, his relationship with this orchestra was one of the happiest and most rewarding of his career.
Yakov Kreizberg was one of the kindest, thoughtful and considerate artists I knew and it was a great privilege to work for him. He leaves behind a tremendous gap in the music world and we send our sincere condolences to his family.
I had always hoped to meet Yakov Kreizberg, having much enjoyed his performances, but the opportunity never arose. I had not realised - none of us had - that time was going to run out quite so soon. His death yesterday coincides with the anniversary of my sister's death at the age of 45. Here is some Mozart in tribute to both of them: Kreizberg conducts his frequent musical collaborator, violinist Julia Fischer, and violinist (here on the viola) Gordan Nikolic with the Netherlands Philharmonic as they record the Sinfonia Concertante - a performance that could scarcely be more positive, filled with light and love.
