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Jesus Lopez Cobos was a celebrated Spanish conductor who performed with many of the world's top orchestras and had the longest tenure of any conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra with a term that lasted from 1986 to 2001. Praised by Gramophone Magazine for his "superb ear for instrumental balance, colour and detail", he conducted orchestral and operatic works throughout his life. He was music director at Teatro Madrid from 2003 to 2010 and made several music films during that time such as Verdi's 'La Traviata' and Puccini's 'La Bohème', which are regarded highly by critics. Born in Toro, northwest of Madrid, he graduated from Complutense University of Madrid with a degree in philosophy and studied conducting with Franco Ferrara and Hans Swarowsky at the University of Music and Performing Arts where he conducted the university choir. Victory in the International Besancon Competition for young conductors in France in 1968 led to his debut as a conductor at Teatro La Venice in 1971. He was music director of Deutsche Oper throughout the 1980s, the Orquestra Nacional de España from 1984 to 1988, and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra throughout the 1990s. He conducted at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He led the Berlin Oper in performances on Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' at the Berlin Festival, the Kennedy Center in the US capital and in Japan. He led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in more than 500 concerts with acclaimed performances of Beethoven's 'Fidelio' and Wagner's 'Lohengrin', 'Tristan und Isolde' and 'Die Walkure' along with three international tours and 26 albums including works by Bruckner, de Falla, Strauss, Wagner, Turina and Debussy. Lopez Cobos died of cancer aged 78 on February 3rd 2018. Cincinnati Pops conductor John Russell told the Cincinnati Business Courier that "he lived his art. He never forgot how an orchestra was made up of individuals, and loved and respected each for their contribution to the whole."
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