Gerard Schwarz serves as music director of the Eastern Music Festival and conductor laureate of the Seattle Symphony. A renowned interpreter of nineteenth-century German, Austrian and Russian repertoire in addition to contemporary American composers, Schwarz recently completed his final season as music director of the Seattle Symphony after an acclaimed 26 years. His previous positions as music director include New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the New York Chamber Symphony. As a guest conductor he has worked with many of the world’s finest orchestras and opera companies. His discography of over 350 releases showcases his collaborations with the Seattle Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and L’Orchestre National de France, among others. His pioneering recordings of American symphonists Diamond, Hanson, Hovhaness, Piston, and William Schuman have received high critical praise, as have his cycles of works by Brahms, Mahler, Rimsky-Korsakov, Robert Schumann, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, and Wagner. Schwarz has received hundreds of honours and accolades including two Emmy Awards, thirteen GRAMMY^® nominations, six ASCAP awards and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation awards. He holds the Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University, was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences gave Schwarz its first “IMPACT” lifetime achievement award.

See Gerard Schwarz’s Naxos interview

An American Champion – Gerard Schwarz Interviewed by Jeremy Siepmann

“Schwarz’s 26-Year Seattle Legacy - Au Revoir But Not Good-Bye” courtesy of American Record Guide