Giulini, Carlo Maria (1914–2005)

Italian conductor. He was joint musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra 1978–84. As principal conductor at La Scala, Milan 1953–55 he worked with US soprano Maria Callas. He was noted for his interpretations of Verdi, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, blending Italian lyricism with the austere monumentality of the German tradition.

At Milan Radio 1946–51 he revived rare operas by Scarlatti, Malapiero, and Bartók; his 1951 radio production of Haydn's opera Il mondo della luna/The World on the Moon (1777) attracted Arturo Toscanini, who recommended his appointment at La Scala. He worked on Verdi operas at Covent Garden, London, with Italian theatre directors Franco Zeffirelli and Luchino Visconti.

Giulini studied viola and conducting at the Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome. He made his debut at La Scala, Milan, during the 1951–52 season, and was appointed principal conductor in 1953.

He made his British debut in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1955, and conducted Don Carlos at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in 1958. From 1967 he moved away from opera and into orchestral concerts, and worked with the Philharmonia, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was principal conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra 1978–84. He returned to opera in 1982, with Verdi's Falstaff in Los Angeles and London.