Juan Matteucci

Juan Matteucci (9 February 1920 – 13 October 1990) was a Chilean and New Zealand conductor who was resident conductor of the NZBC Symphony Orchestra (now the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra) from 1964 to 1969, and the Symphonia of Auckland (now the Auckland Philharmonia) from 1969 to 1980.

Early life and education Juan Matteucci was born in 1920 in Faenza, Italy in the dressing room of an opera house where his father Amilcare Matteucci was playing in the orchestra and his mother was attending a performance. His family moved from Italy to Chile and he gained a bachelor's degree in philosophy, biology and maths before attending medical school for four years, while studying the cello.

Career At the age of 20 Matteucci became principal cellist with the Symphony Orchestra of Chile, taking over his father's position in the orchestra. At this time, he studied conducting under Fritz Busch when he was a guest conductor of the orchestra. Matteucci began conducting and won a scholarship from the Chilean government to study at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. He was appointed the sixth resident conductor of the NZBC Symphony Orchestra in 1964 holding the position until 1969, the first conductor to have a five year contract.

In 1969 Matteucci began an 11-year stint as conductor of the Symphonia of Auckland (which later became the Auckland Philharmonia); the orchestra's voluntary liquidation in 1980 was attributed partly to Matteucci's "imprudent programming". He also conducted the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Australia; the Victoria Symphony Orchestra in Canada; in China and the USSR. Williams was also a course participant. This made the front page of the Auckland Star, featuring women conductors, who were at that time still a rarity. One such participant was Alexandra Wiltshire who went on to become the first woman to conduct a major opera in New Zealand. Wiltshire later was a conductor of the Australian production of Cats at Theatre Royal, Sydney, for which Williams was also a keyboardist, for several hundred performances. In 1977, the New Zealand School of Music announced a new Orchestral Training Scheme to be headed by Matteucci and staffed by section leaders of the Symphonia, however this failed to gain traction.

Discography MSDT-0139-2 1974Mahler, Gustave, 1860-1911: 8th Symphony / performed by NZBC Orchestra, Orpheus Choir, Auckland Choral Union, and Wellington Girls' CollegeChoralCassette MSC-023612

Honours and awards Matteucci received an OBE in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to music. He was a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy.

Matteucci died 13 years later in New Zealand on 13 October 1990.