Lawrence Foster, an American conductor of Romanian ancestry, was born on October 23, 1941, in Los Angeles, California. His parents, of Romanian origin, had him when his father was away, and his father passed away when Foster was just three years old. He was later adopted by his father-in-law, which is why he does not have a traditionally Romanian surname.
Foster's early life was marked by his passion for music, and he began studying conducting with German conductor Fritz Zweig and piano with Joanna Grauden, both in Los Angeles. He later had the opportunity to work with renowned conductors such as Karl Böhm, Bruno Walter, and Franz Waxman, who became his mentors.
At the age of 18, Foster became the conductor of the San Francisco Ballet, a position he held for several years. He then served as assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin Mehta. His talent and dedication earned him the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at Tanglewood in 1966.
In 1969, Foster was appointed as the chief guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, a position he held for several years. He has also held music directorships with numerous orchestras around the world, including the Houston Symphony, the Ojai Music Festival, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Duisburg Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia, among others.
In addition to his work with orchestras, Foster has also been involved in opera. He was appointed music director of the Aspen Music Festival and School in 1990 and has also served as music director of the Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, Portugal, and the Opéra National de Montpellier. In February 2012, he was announced as the next music director of Opéra de Marseille and the Orchestre philharmonique de Marseille. As of 2019, he is the artistic director and chief conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR).
Foster is particularly known for his interpretations of the works of George Enescu, a Romanian composer, and has made a comprehensive survey of commercial recordings of Enescu's music. He served as artistic director of the George Enescu Festival from 1998 to 2001 and was decorated by the Romanian President in 2003 for his services to Romanian music.
Throughout his career, Foster has recorded a number of discs for Pentatone, including opera, symphonies, and concertos by various composers. His recording of Enescu's Oedipe was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque from the Académie Charles Cros in France.
