Maestro Lorin Maazel, renowned conductor and composer, died Sunday at the age of 84 at his house in Castleton, Virginia.
Conducting from the age of 9, the child prodigy went on to serve several ensembles throughout his life. Among many positions included the artistic director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as the music director of the New York Philharmic, according to the LA Times.
Maazel also founded the Castleton Festival, an annual summer event intended to bring together artists and create for them new opportunities. The festival’s official website confirmed his death and posted a thoughtful quote from Maazel about the artist’s role. “It is a role of the highest possible order; bringing peoples and their cultures together on common ground, where the roots of peaceful interchange can imperceptibly but irrevocably take hold.”
Endlessly praised by fellow musicians and critics, Maazel had a deep impact on the music world that will not be forgotten. Alan Gilbert, who replaced Maazel at the New York Philharmonic, expressed his gratitude to Maazel “for the brilliant state of the orchestra” Maazel left him with, and for the “support and encouragement” Maazel gave him when he became the new music director, reported the New York Times.