Exemplifying the efficacy of good recordings, conductor
Michael Halász has achieved worldwide recognition for his extensive Naxos discography. Fully prepared to seize the opportunity to preserve his interpretations on disc, the conductor has won strong approbation for both orchestral works and several operas, which critics determined warranted highest recommendation. After his successful recording of
Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, even stronger accolades awaited his
Fidelio with
Inga Nielsen,
Gösta Winbergh, and
Kurt Moll, singers who matched the best efforts of other legendary casts. For detail and propulsiveness,
Halász's own work demanded comparison with the best of those who had preceded him. In 2021,
Halász, leading the
Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, issued albums featuring
symphonic works of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and the premiere recordings of six of
John Abraham Fisher's symphonies.
Halász was born on May 21, 1938, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Trained as a bassoonist,
Halász began his professional career as principal bassoonist in the
Philharmonia Hungarica. After eight years with that ensemble, he elected to train as a conductor in Essen, subsequently making his podium debut at Munich's Gardenplatztheater in 1972. For the next three years, he directed the theater's operetta productions before moving to Frankfurt to assume the position of principal Kapellmeister under
Christoph von Dohnányi. In Frankfurt, he learned an extensive opera repertory, and, in 1977, he followed
Dohnányi to Hamburg to continue his work as principal Kapellmeister. The following year,
Halász was appointed general music director at the Hagen Opera and remained in that position until his engagement as resident conductor at the Vienna Staatsoper in 1991.
Halász remained in his Vienna post until 2011, and since then, he has had an ongoing relationship with the
Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra in Pardubice.
While primarily devoting himself to his chief positions, the conductor has accepted guest-conducting engagements and has been a frequent visitor to the recording studio. In addition to his opera recordings,
Halász has recorded numerous orchestral works for Naxos, most notably symphonies of
Beethoven and
Mahler, and two volumes of symphonic poems by
Liszt, the latter greeted with especially warm reviews. His collaboration with cellist
Maria Kliegel in the cello concertos of
Elgar and Dvorák also elicited positive remarks. Important works in the choral repertory, too, have been recorded by
Halász, including Fauré's Requiem and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, and
Mozart's Mass in C minor and Kyrie in D minor. For the Naxos sister label Marco Polo,
Halász has recorded works by Anton Rubinstein, Nikolay Myaskovsky, and Franz Schmidt.
Franz Schreker's opera
Der Ferne Klang, recorded for Marco Polo, was subsequently re-released on the Naxos label. In 2020,
Halász continued his Naxos partnership with the
Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, recording
John Abraham Fisher's first six symphonies as well as a
symphony and the symphonies concertantes of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, with both albums issued in 2021.