John Axelrod

John Neal Axelrod (born March 28, 1966, in Houston, Texas) is a Swiss/American conductor.

Axelrod was elected Principal Conductor of the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra in a unique open ended contract in 2022.

Axelrod was born in Houston, Texas, on March 28, 1966.

From the age of 5, Axelrod studied piano with Jacquelyn Harbachick and Roberto Eyzaguirre.

At the age of 16 he was accepted as a student by Leonard Bernstein, during the premiere of his final opera, A Quiet Place, for Houston Grand Opera.

Axelrod graduated cum laude in 1984 from St. John's School and went on to Harvard University, where he completed a bachelor's degree in music in 1988.

After a summer jazz course in 1985 he continued his jazz piano and improvisation studies with Craig Najjar at the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Axelrod moved to Los Angeles following his studies, working as an A&R Executive for Atlantic and RCA/BMG Records until 1991.

He worked briefly as an artist manager for Iron John Management, started his own production company, "Ivy League Records", and eventually became Director of the Robert Mondavi Wine and Food Center in Costa Mesa, California, in 1994.

After deciding to return to music in 1995, he studied conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia with Ilya Musin.

In 1996 Axelrod founded Houston's former Orchestra X, where he served as artistic director and Conductor.

He also studied with then Houston Symphony Music Director Christoph Eschenbach and became his assistant in 1999 at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival and for Parsifal, at Bayreuth in 2000.

In 2003, Axelrod premiered with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at the Ravinia Festival the Samuel Pisar text for the Symphony 3 "Kaddish," by Leonard Bernstein.

He has also served as music director and Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2009, and from 2001 to 2009 as Principal Guest Conductor of Sinfonietta Cracovia.

In 2004, Axelrod was named Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and music director of the Luzern Theater in Switzerland.

During his 5-year tenure he appeared at the Lucerne Festival each summer, performing in both concert and opera.

in 2005, the documentary won an international Emmy Award

He recorded this version for Nimbus with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in 2006 at the Lucerne Festival.

In 2007, Axelrod recorded Holocaust - A Music Memorial Film, directed by James Kent on the grounds of Auschwitz BBC TWO with Sinfonietta Cracovia, performing Mozart's Requiem, Gorecki's Symphony 3, with soprano Isabel Baryakdarian and the Kaiser's aria from Kaiser von Atlantis with baritone Gerald Finley.

Between 2009 and 2013, Axelrod was music director of l'Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, based in Nantes and Angers, France; and from 2009 to 2011, Axelrod served as music director of "Hollywood In Vienna" Gala Concerts with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna.

In April, 2009 Axelrod was elected as music director of the l'Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (ONPL), based in Nantes and Angers, France.

He assumed the title of Music Director Designé with the 2009–2010 season, and began his full duties as music director for the 2010–2011 season.

In July 2009, Axelrod was appointed music director of the Hollywood in Vienna Gala Concert with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna.

The first of his concert performances was on October 14, 2009, in the Konzerthaus of Vienna.

During the summer of 2009 Axelrod made a unique European and North American tour at the invitation of Chinese pianist Lang Lang and legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock, performing in such venues as the Montreux Jazz Festival Arena di Verona, Royal Albert Hall, the Ruhr Piano Festival, Rotterdam North Sea Jazz, the Ravenna Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the Mann Center, Massey Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl.

From 2009 to 2011, Axelrod was the music director of the annual red carpet broadcast event in the Konzerthaus Vienna Hollywood in Vienna with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Viena, performing film music by such composers as John Williams, Alexandre Desplat, Howard Shore, Alan Silverstri, Max Steiner, Erich Woflgang Korngold and many more.

From the 2011/12 season, he is the Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi also known as "laVerdi".

With this orchestra, he also recorded with Swiss violinist Rachel Kolly d'Alba works by Chausson and Ravel for Warner Classics, released in 2011.

In 2012, Axelrod, as music director of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, recorded with French Mezzo Soprano Véronique Gens works by Berlioz and Ravel, for Ondine.

With the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, he also recorded made the first recording by a French orchestra of L'Eventail de Jeanne for Naxos.

He was also elected Artistic and musical director of the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville in 2014 and is Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, "Giuseppe Verdi", also known as "LaVerdi".

In November, 2014, Axelrod was elected Artistic and musical director of the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville.

In July, 2017, Axelrod was elected CEO (Consejero Delegado) in addition to his Artistic and musical director duties of the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville.

In 2017, Axelrod made history walking down the steps dressed as Darth Vader at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, performing Star Wars by John Williams.

From 2019 to 2023 He was Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra.

In January, 2020, Axelrod was elected Principal Guest Conductor of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, in Japan.

In August, 2022, Axelrod was elected Principal Conductor of the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, in Romania.

Axelrod has conducted over 175 orchestras around the world, including many of the world's leading orchestras such as, in Europe: the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Israeli Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Hungarian National Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Polish National Radio Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in St. Petersburg, at Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus with the Vienna Radio Symphony, Gürzenich Orchestra Köln, Berlin's Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre National de Lyon, Camerata Salzburg, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, and the Salzburg Mozarteum.

In Asia: the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa and City of Kyoto Symphony; and in North America: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Symphony.

He has also been a regular guest of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Dresden Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie of Hanover, Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, Orchestra del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro la Fenice, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Lisbon's Gulbenkian Orchestra.