Grand nephew of both Arnold Schoenberg, the composer, and Arthur Bodanzky, the conductor, John Neschling was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1947. He studied piano and followed his inclination to conducting under Hans Swarowsky in Vienna, and Leonard Bernstein in Tanglewood. The international conducting competitions that he has won include those of Florence (1969), of the London Symphony (1972) and of La Scala (1976). In 1973, back in Brazil, he accepted the positions of Musical Director of the municipal theatres of both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In Europe, he directed the theatres São Carlos in Lisbon, Sankt Gallen (Switzerland), Massimo (Palermo) and Opéra de Bordeaux, apart from being Resident Conductor at the Vienna State Opera. He made his debut in the United States in 1996, conducting Il Guarany by Carlos Gomes, with Plácido Domingo in the role of Peri, at the Washington Opera. At the direction of Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP) since 1997, Neschling (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor) has been gathering important achievements that mark a new phase in the history of the Orchestra. In addition to his engagements with OSESP, he has an intense schedule of activities abroad. He also composes for cinema and theatre: he is the author of the score for films such as Pixote, The Kiss of the Spider Woman, Lúcio Flávio – o Passageiro da Agonia, Gaijin, Os Condenados and for the TV miniseries Os Maias. More recently, he wrote the music for Desmundo by Alain Fresnot, and incidental music for the soap-opera Esperança.