Challender was born in February 1947 at Hobart. His initial passion for music came from his grandmother, Thelma Driscoll, who used to sing to him as a child. In 1960, his father took him to a performance of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony conducted by Tibor Paul,[1] from which he decided to become a conductor.[2]
Challender began his professional conducting career in 1970. His first engagement was Kiss Me, Kate, for the Lucerne Opera. He was appointed assistant conductor at the Staatstheater Nürnberg; then came engagements in Switzerland at Zürich and Basel, where he was resident conductor at the Opera House from 1976 to 1980.[2]
Upon returning to Australia from Europe, he joined the staff of The Australian Opera. In late 1980 Challender was assigned to conduct a single performance of The Barber of Seville, and soon after he was appointed resident conductor of the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and went on to conduct many of the great standards of opera.[3]
Challender succeeded Zdeněk Mácal as chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 1987 to 1991, to great acclaim. In Australia's bicentennial year (1988), he led the orchestra in a successful tour of the United States, a 12-city tour that culminated with a concert at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to mark 200 years of European settlement in Australia.[2] He conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Hong Kong in 1989 and in 1990 conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in four concerts.[3] Several recordings which he made with the SSO are still available on commercially released CDs.
On 26 January 1991, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) "in recognition of services to music".[4] In June of that year, his health visibly failing, Challender conducted his last concert in Hobart, with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Death
Challender died of an AIDS-related disease on 13 December 1991.[3] One week later, on 20 December, at the Sydney Town Hall, Justice Michael Kirby led the speakers at a celebration of Challender's life. A seven-minute piece for solo cello by Peter Sculthorpe titled Threnody: In memoriam Stuart Challender was performed by David Pereira.[5]
In his will, Challender provided for the establishment of the Stuart Challender Foundation, to aid the training and development of future Australian conductors. He bequeathed his extensive collection of scores to the Music Library at the University of Tasmania.[2]
Ross Edwards's Symphony No. 1 Da Pacem Domine (1995) was dedicated to Challender's memory.
Discography
All recordings with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Ross Edwards Orchestral Works (with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Dene Olding and Porcelijn)
Best Classical Album
Won
Mo Awards
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Stuart Challender won three awards in that time.[7]
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result (wins only)
1989
Stuart Challender
Australian Performer of the Year
Won
1990
Stuart Challender
Classical Performance of the Year
Won
1991
Stuart Challender
Classical Performance of the Year
Won
Bibliography
Davis, Richard. Close to the Flame: the Life of Stuart Challender, Wakefield Press, 2017, Sydney[8][9]
