Biography:

Stewart Robertson (22 May 1948^[1] – February 2024)^[2] was a Scottish conductor. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Bristol University. He studied piano in London with Denis Matthews, and conducting with Otmar Suitner at the Mozarteum Academy and Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy.

Career

Robertson became the youngest conductor to lead a performance at the Cologne Opera since Herbert von Karajan. He served as music director of the Zurich Ballet and Scottish Opera Touring Company. He conducted New York City Opera productions broadcast on Live from Lincoln Center.

In the early 1980’s, he served as conductor of the San Jose Symphony Youth Orchestra.

In addition to being an active pianist, Robertson was a broadcast writer and lecturer on music who was seen and heard on National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service, BBC, and Swiss-Italian radio and television.

Robertson was music director of Glimmerglass Opera from 1988 to 2006.^[3] From 1998 to 2009, he served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Florida Grand Opera in Miami. He was also a professor of orchestral studies at Florida International University. Beginning in 2005 and until his death, he was the conductor of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra in Florida. From 2005 to 2008, he was artistic director and principal conductor of Opera Omaha.^[1]

Robertson’s commercial recordings include Richard Rodney Bennett‘s opera The Mines of Sulphur (Chandos)^[4] and Stephen Hartke‘s opera The Greater Good (Naxos),^[5] both of which featured performers from Glimmerglass Opera.

Robertson and his wife Meryl had two children.

Credits: