Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Macau, China
About Yondani Butt
- Yondani Chak Cheung Butt (January 13, 1945 - August 28, 2014) was an orchestral conductor.
- He was born in Macao of Chinese parentage.
- He studied music at Indiana University and the University of Michigan.
- He also had a PhD in chemistry, on which subject he has published numerous research papers, particularly on polyene photochemistry.
- He studied conducting with Wolfgang Vacano (1906-1985) at Indiana University, majoring in chemistry.
- He continued to study conducting with Josef Blatt (1906-1999) at the University of Michigan while pursuing his chemistry degree. As founder of Symphonie Canadiana, he led the orchestra on major tours throughout North America.
- Since 1983, he held the position of Resident Conductor of the Victoria International Festival, creating the Concerti Extravaganza series, for which he conducted more than 23 concertos in six weeks.
- Butt recorded and performed in the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
- He led the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, the American Symphony (with which he performed a Brahms cycle in New York), Hamilton Philharmonic of Canada, Orquesta SinfĂłnica del Estado de Mexico, Singapore Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Japan Gunma Symphony and Het Gelders Orkest, amongst many others.
- He recorded the First Symphony of Mahler, the Glazunov Third through Sixth Symphonies, the Saint-Saëns Second, and many more works. In 1995, Butt received an MRA Gramophone Award in the Symphony category for his recording of Glazunov’s Sixth Symphony.
- He had won the same award in 1986 for his interpretation of Rimsky-Korsakov's Third Symphony.
- His recording of Glazunov's Third Symphony is recognized by the Glazunov Society as definitive, and earned him the title of Honorary Patron of the Society.
- His extensive discography includes works by Elgar, Glière, Grieg, Kodály, Lalo, Liszt, Mahler, Raff, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius and Richard Strauss.
- His recording of Goldmark's Rustic Wedding Symphony featured in the classical charts and was a Gramophone Magazine Critics’ Choice.In the early 2000s, Butt suffered damage to his vocal cords, and retired from conducting.
- However, in 2009 he returned to the podium, working with the London Symphony Orchestra to record many of the Austro-German classics, including Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann and Wagner, as well as works by Tchaikovsky, and a disc of French classics.Butt was also a composer.
- He studied free counterpoint and composition with Bernhard Heiden.
- In Indiana, he studied piano with Sidney Foster, a protégé of Isabelle Vengerova and David Saperton at the Curtis Institute.
- In Michigan, he studied ensemble with Eugene Bossart (1917-2011) and piano with Karen Keys. Butt died on August 27, 2014 (10:45am on August 28, 2014 Beijing Standard Time) after a sudden illness while living in China.
Read more at Wikipedia
See Also
- Famous People's Birthdays on 13 January, China
- Famous People's Birthdays in January, China
- Famous People's Birthdays on 13 January, Canada
- Famous People's Birthdays in January, Canada
- Famous conductor's Birthdays on 13 January, China
- Famous conductor's Birthdays in January, China
- Famous conductor's Birthdays on 13 January, Canada
- Famous conductor's Birthdays in January, Canada