Lawrence Foster

Since 2013 Lawrence Foster has held the position of Music Director of l'Opéra de Marseille and l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille. He has been appointed Conductor Laureate of the Gulbenkian Orchestra following his ten-year tenure as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor. This season Foster and the orchestra completed a highly successful tour to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Foster has previously held Music Directorships with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. An accomplished opera conductor, he has conducted in major opera houses throughout the world. This season sees opera productions of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at the Welsh National Opera with guest appearances in Dubai as well as Thomas’ Hamlet and Verdi’s Don Carlos at the l'Opéra de Marseille.

Foster's discography includes a highly acclaimed CD of violin works by Bruch, Chausson and Korngold with Arabella Steinbacher, as well as Bartok’s Two Portraits, Ligeti’s Romanian Concerto, Kodaly’s Dances of Galanta and Hary Janos Suite and the Four Symphonies by Robert Schumann with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Born in 1941 in Los Angeles to Romanian parents, Foster has been a major champion of the music of Georg Enescu, serving as Artistic Director of the Georg Enescu Festival from 1998 to 2001. In January 2003 he was decorated by the Romanian President for services to Romanian Music.