Jesús López Cobos
Born 1940 Conductor
Jesús López Cobos will be best remembered as the music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1986-2001, during which time he made 26 recordings. He led the orchestra in annual concerts at Carnegie Hall, completed a major tour of the Far East in 1990 and embarked on the orchestra’s first European tour in nearly 30 years. López Cobos was born in Toro, Spain, and, after completing a degree in philosophy, studied conducting with Franco Ferrara and Hans Swarowsky at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He went on to conduct orchestras across the world, holding the position of music director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Teatro Real in Madrid as well as principal conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. His post at the Cincinnati SO was his longest tenure – after leaving he was made conductor emeritus, a title he also held at the Orquesta de Castilla y Leon.