Early life Eschenbach’s parents were Margarethe (née Jaross) and Heribert Ringmann. He was orphaned during World War II. As a result of the trauma, he did not speak for a year, until he was asked if he wanted to play music. Wallydore Eschenbach (née Jaross), a cousin of his mother, adopted him in 1946. After the war, he studied the piano with his foster mother. He later studied piano with Eliza Hansen and in 1955 he enrolled at the Musikhochschule in Cologne, studying with Hans-Otto Schmidt-Neuhaus. At age 11, he had witnessed Wilhelm Furtwängler conduct, which had a great impact on him. In 1959, he started studying conducting with Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg. [edit]Musical career As a pianist, Eschenbach has won numerous first-place piano competition prizes, including first prize in the Clara Haskil Competition in Vevey, Switzerland in 1965. In 1964, he made his first recording (of Mozart) for Deutsche Grammophon and signed a contract with the label. Eschenbach continued to study conducting with George Szell, with whom he worked for more than three years. In addition, Herbert von Karajan was his mentor for nearly twenty-five years. In 1981, Eschenbach became principal guest conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and was chief conductor from 1982 to 1986. Other posts have included music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1988-1999), where he now holds the title of Conductor Laureate; chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg (1998-2004); and …