American born and trained, conductor Franz Anton Krager has been making his artistic presence felt both at home and abroad. Performance engagements in some of the world's most celebrated concert halls and musical centers are testimony to his emergence as a conductor on the international music scene. Since making his prize winning European conducting debut in Copenhagen's Tivoli Koncertsalen in 1978, Krager has led orchestras in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, Moscow's State Kremlin Palace, the Sydney Opera House, Amsterdam's Congresgebouw, Kazan's State Philharmonic Hall in Russia, Guadalajara's Degollado Theater, and Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. His affiliations with leading music festivals include the Lichfield and Aberystwyth International Arts Festivals in the U.K., the Lunatica, Pianomaster, Sinfonico, and Scarlino Castello Music Festivals in Italy, and the Texas Music Festival (where he is Music Director and Chief Conductor) and Interlochen National Music Camp in the U.S. Krager has worked with some of the pre-eminent artists of our time, and has collaborated with Robert Shaw, William Warfield, Maxim Shostakovich, Marilyn Horne, John Corigliano, Horacio Gutiérrez, and Sergei Leiferkus.
Krager has led the Houston, Russian State, and Florida West Coast Symphonies, Romanian and Kazan State philharmonics; symphony orchestras of Berlin, Leipzig, Grosseto, and Honolulu, and was Principal Guest Conductor in Stratford from 2000-2004.
In 2000, Krager served as General & Artistic Director for "Shostakovich 2000," a five-day international music festival marking the 25th anniversary of Shostakovich's death. "Shostakovich 2000" drew people to Houston from across the U.S., Europe, and Russia, and was recognized by the DSCH Journal as a major world event for ballet, opera, chamber, and orchestral music by Shostakovich. In 2004, he made his European opera conducting debut with the Stagione Lirica in Italy. In 2006, Krager was appointed Artistic Consultant for the World Holocaust Forum Foundation's "Let My People Live," the International Forum in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the tragedy in Babi Yar, Kiev, Ukraine. This event garnered global media attention, and included state delegations from several countries including the Presidents of Israel and Ukraine.
"His appearance, his poise clearly reveal his experience" proclaimed the Berliner Morgenpost. In Amsterdam, the Haagsche Courant hailed Krager as a "great musical talent." England's Liverpool Daily Post stated that "American conductor Franz Anton Krager produced a performance full of life, vivacity and enthusiasm." The Leipziger Volkszeitung in Germany praised "Krager's unusual Schwung and Esprit brought to the Gewandhaus." In the American press, the Houston Chronicle has cited his "well-prepared earnestness; assured, committed performances; effectiveness; and heartfelt sincerity."
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