Watch and Listen
Maestro Slatkin discusses the highlights of the Nov. 20-22 program
Maestro Slatkin discusses the highlights of the Dec. 4-6 program
Maestro Slatkin discusses the AfterWords program.
Meet the Musician: Emanuel Ax on his relationship with the NSO
Meet the Musician: John Corigliano on Leonard Slatkin
Meet the Musician: John Corigliano on his history with the NSO.
Leonard Slatkin - A Champion of American Music
Leonard Slatkin - Collaborator
Upcoming Performances
Additional Resources
Testimony in support of music education: April 5, 2000
Leonard Slatkin’s testimony presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in support of public school music education.
"Slatkin Offers Clinic on Smart Programs, Stunning Playing": Classicstoday.com - October 30, 2002
"When it comes to interesting and intelligent programming, no other conductor active today outclasses Leonard Slatkin."
Review - "Picture Perfect: NSO's Stellar 'Soundtracks'": The Washington Post
"Williams made a charming, self-effacing host, and a capacity audience cheered him as if he were Luke Skywalker."
Leonard Slatkin’s testimony presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in support of public school music education.
"Slatkin Offers Clinic on Smart Programs, Stunning Playing": Classicstoday.com - October 30, 2002
"When it comes to interesting and intelligent programming, no other conductor active today outclasses Leonard Slatkin."
Review - "Picture Perfect: NSO's Stellar 'Soundtracks'": The Washington Post
"Williams made a charming, self-effacing host, and a capacity audience cheered him as if he were Luke Skywalker."
Review - "For the NSO, A Grand Night For Syncing": The Washington Post
"Slatkin is brilliant not only as a conductor but as an educator as well. As narrator for the third "Soundtracks" program, he introduced a capacity audience to an absorbing evening devoted to the history of aligning music with film..."
Review - "Music to Our Eyes": The Washington Post
"Over the course of five minutes, Williams manages to breeze through 22 film themes..."
"Bridging The Musical Gap": The Washington Post - June 21, 2003
In an editorial for the Washington Post, Leonard Slatkin introduced Composer Portrait, with its emphasis on families experiencing music together.
Leonard Slatkin's official website: View Maestro Slatkin’s performance schedule, biography, photos, and more.
Leonard Slatkin's 60th Birthday Celebration Concert: September 24, 2004
In September of 2004, the National Symphony Orchestra designated its Season Opening Ball Concert in honor of Leonard Slatkin's 60th birthday.
A Grand Day at the Kennedy Center: 100 Pianos: Washington Post – Washington DC (Oct. 6, 2005)
"What is the sound of 100 pianos? Strikingly similar to the sound of, say, eight pianos—and that's a compliment."
"Making Pieces Come Alive For Kids": The Washington Post – Washington, DC (Nov. 08, 2005)
"Leonard Slatkin, conductor and music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, travels around the country learning about the state of music education…"
Related Article - "Mozart at 250: No Signs of Slowing Down": The Washington Post - Washington, DC (Jan. 22, 2006)
"It is now 250 years since Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria -- and some 245 years since this prodigy among prodigies fashioned his first little pieces for keyboard under the helpful eye of his father, Leopold. The world has changed radically since 1756 but Mozart remains a constant -- we continue to regard the mixture of clarity, grace and formal balance in his music with undiminished awe. He seems to have been incapable of vulgarity or overstatement: In his mature works, th
Review - "'Abduction': Taken With a Grain of Salt": The Washington Post - Washington, DC (Jan. 26, 2006)
'arresting"
NSO Takes Flight with ‘Four Angels’: The Washington Post Washington, D.C. Friday, June 8, 2007
“All sentiment aside, this is one of the best new pieces Music Director Leonard Slatkin has championed -- an ambitious, eloquent and often radiantly beautiful confection for an instrument that is notoriously difficult for a composer to work with.”
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"Slatkin is brilliant not only as a conductor but as an educator as well. As narrator for the third "Soundtracks" program, he introduced a capacity audience to an absorbing evening devoted to the history of aligning music with film..."
Review - "Music to Our Eyes": The Washington Post
"Over the course of five minutes, Williams manages to breeze through 22 film themes..."
"Bridging The Musical Gap": The Washington Post - June 21, 2003
In an editorial for the Washington Post, Leonard Slatkin introduced Composer Portrait, with its emphasis on families experiencing music together.
Leonard Slatkin's official website: View Maestro Slatkin’s performance schedule, biography, photos, and more.
Leonard Slatkin's 60th Birthday Celebration Concert: September 24, 2004
In September of 2004, the National Symphony Orchestra designated its Season Opening Ball Concert in honor of Leonard Slatkin's 60th birthday.
A Grand Day at the Kennedy Center: 100 Pianos: Washington Post – Washington DC (Oct. 6, 2005)
"What is the sound of 100 pianos? Strikingly similar to the sound of, say, eight pianos—and that's a compliment."
"Making Pieces Come Alive For Kids": The Washington Post – Washington, DC (Nov. 08, 2005)
"Leonard Slatkin, conductor and music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, travels around the country learning about the state of music education…"
Related Article - "Mozart at 250: No Signs of Slowing Down": The Washington Post - Washington, DC (Jan. 22, 2006)
"It is now 250 years since Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria -- and some 245 years since this prodigy among prodigies fashioned his first little pieces for keyboard under the helpful eye of his father, Leopold. The world has changed radically since 1756 but Mozart remains a constant -- we continue to regard the mixture of clarity, grace and formal balance in his music with undiminished awe. He seems to have been incapable of vulgarity or overstatement: In his mature works, th
Review - "'Abduction': Taken With a Grain of Salt": The Washington Post - Washington, DC (Jan. 26, 2006)
'arresting"
NSO Takes Flight with ‘Four Angels’: The Washington Post Washington, D.C. Friday, June 8, 2007
“All sentiment aside, this is one of the best new pieces Music Director Leonard Slatkin has championed -- an ambitious, eloquent and often radiantly beautiful confection for an instrument that is notoriously difficult for a composer to work with.”
Biography of Leonard Slatkin
About the Artist
Internationally renowned American conductor Leonard Slatkin begins his appointment as the 12th Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra commencing with the 2008-2009 season, and also serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, another new association. He completed his 12th and final season as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2007-2008. Mr. Slatkin continues as Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Advisor to the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. His performances throughout North America, Europe and the Far East have been distinguished by imaginative programming and highly praised interpretations of both the standard and contemporary symphonic repertoire. Additionally, he is well-known for his arts advocacy work on behalf of music education.
Highlights of this coming season include a Far East tour with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, including performances in Shanghai, Macau and Taipei; guest engagements throughout Europe with such prestigious orchestras as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Geneva), Orquesta Nacional de Espana (Madrid), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Paris), Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano (Milan), WDR Sinfonieorchester (Cologne); and concerts with many leading American ensembles including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony and Seattle Symphony. He will also conduct several world premieres with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Following a successful tenure as Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony from 1979 until 1996, Mr. Slatkin was named Conductor Laureate. He has served as Festival Director of the Cleveland Orchestra's Blossom Festival (1990-99), Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra (1997-2000), Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (2000-2004), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl (2004-2007). In addition to his conducting appearances, Mr. Slatkin is a frequent host of musical broadcasts, which include the BBC, lending his broad knowledge and expertise.
Mr. Slatkin has made regular appearances with virtually every major international orchestra, including the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many others. His performances of opera have taken him to leading opera companies in the US and around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, and Vienna State Opera. A recent highlight is a European tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony, stepping in at the last minute to replace Sir Andrew Davis. He is a regular guest conductor at major summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, Aspen, Hollywood Bowl and the BBC Proms.
Leonard Slatkin's more than 100 recordings have been recognized with seven Grammy awards and more than sixty other Grammy nominations. He has recorded with the National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Nashville Symphony Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras, London Symphony, and Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra.
Throughout his career, Mr. Slatkin has demonstrated a continuing commitment to arts education and to reaching diverse audiences. He is the founder and director of the National Conducting Institute, an advanced career development program for rising conductors. Additionally, Mr. Slatkin founded the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and has also worked with student orchestras across the United States, including those at the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School of Music. He works frequently with youth orchestras across America and abroad, including the DC Youth Orchestra, Midwest Youth Symphony Orchestra, American-Soviet Youth Orchestra, European Community Youth Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago and American Youth Philharmonic. He also reaches out to younger musicians and music teachers through the NSO American Residencies program and regularly addresses and mentors public and private school students of all ages.
Mr. Slatkin has received many honors and awards, including the 2003 National Medal of Arts (the highest award given to artists by the United States Government), the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the American Symphony Orchestra League's Gold Baton for service to American music, ASCAP awards with both the National and Saint Louis Symphonies, an honorary doctorate from his alma mater The Juilliard School, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the DC Mayor's Arts Awards, and the prestigious Declaration of Honor in Silver from the Austrian ambassador to the United States for outstanding contributions to cultural relations. Mr. Slatkin is the Arthur R. Metz Foundation Conductor at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, and beginning with the 2007-2008 season, the Distinguished Artist in Residence at the American University.
Born in Los Angeles to a distinguished musical family, his parents were the conductor-violinist Felix Slatkin and cellist Eleanor Aller, founding members of the famed Hollywood String Quartet. Mr. Slatkin began his musical studies on the violin and studied conducting with his father, followed by Walter Susskind at Aspen and Jean Morel at The Juilliard School. He is the proud parent of a teenage son, Daniel.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts