(Image Source: Gabriel Chmura Official Website)

On November 19, 2020, conductor Gabriel Chmura passed away at the age of 74. His passing was confirmed by the city of Poznan, where he served as Music Director for their Great Theater.

Born in Wroclaw in 1946, Chmura and his family emigrated from Poland to Israel in 1957, where he would study at the Music Academy of Tel Aviv. At the age of 25, he placed first in Berlin’s Herbert von Karajan competition, with Karajan later inviting Chmura to conduct a performance of Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” with the Berlin Philharmonic.

The next few decades saw Chmura serve as Music Director of the opera house in Aachen, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, before returning to Poland to lead the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice.

Among his distinctions and accolades was his 2011 Jan Kiepura Prize for best Operatic Conducting, and the 2017 Gloria Artis Gold Medal for his service to Polish culture. His recording of Monteverdi’s “Orfeo” received the Grand Prix de Disque Mondial de Montreux.

Chmura delivered his final concert in Poznan on October 2.