Maestro dies from complications following pneumonia

Renowned US conductor Lorin Maazel passed away Sunday at his home in Virginia. According to the Castleton Festival, an annual musical event that Maazel founded, the maestro died from complications following pneumonia, as he was rehearsing and preparing for the festival.

Maazel's death came only a month after he resigned from his position as music director of the Munich Philharmonic due to health concerns. A month before, he was forced to cancel his China and Japan tour with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under advice from his doctors. But still, his death came as a shock to the world of classical music.

Known for his relentless energy and passion for precision, Maazel guided nearly 2-thousand orchestras in at least 7-thousand operas and concerts during his 72 year career. He is widely praised for his uncanny baton technique, clear beat and photographic memory for scores.

Born in Paris on March the 6th, 1930, Lorin Maazel began his musical career as a child prodigy at the age of 5. He first picked up the baton at 8, and conducted several major US orchestras from ages 9 to 15.

Having served at many of the world's great orchestras, he became the first American to manage the Vienna State Opera, and seven years as music director at the New York Philharmonic. Throughout his career, Lorin Maazel was considered by many to be one of the best conductors in the world, having made more than 320 recordings.

Maazel had been a frequent visitor to China, especially in his later years. He has toured the Chinese mainland 11 times since 1986, each visit with a world-class orchestra and repertoire old & new, and has collaborated with Chinese composers and musicians. In 2009, he co-founded the Castleton Festival with his wife, which has become a training ground for young artists. He is also an avid composer and violinist.

Lorin Maazel is another leading maestro that passed away this year after Italian conductor Claudio Abbado, who died in January following a long illness.