A classical composer, conductor, and violinist, Maazel is the former director of the New York Philharmonic.

Like many of his peers, Maazel's musical abilities emerged before he'd even gone off to kindergarten. Born just outside Paris, Maazel moved to the States as a little kid. By the age of five, he was taking violin lessons; two years later, he was learning how to wield a baton. He went on to study conducting with Vladimir Bakaleinikoff in Pittsburgh before spending more than four decades leading several of the world's most prestigious orchestras including the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and Vienna State Opera. In 2001, after Kurt Masur stepped down as director of the New York Philharmonic, Maazel took over, where he remained into 2009. Maazel's appointment to the Philharmonic position wasn't without drama. Some in the press painted him as arrogant and inflexible, and thought it was a mistake to hire a conductor who was pushing 70. At the helm, though, Maazel received generally positive reviews from the critics, even from those who initially opposed his appointment.

Maazel is passionate about humanitarian and environmental causes, and has participated in numerous events to raise money for UNESCO, Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Red Cross. Perhaps his most memorable act with the Philharmonic, in February 2008 he carried out the most significant act of "symphonic diplomacy" in a generation, taking the New York Philharmonic to Pyongyang for the first-ever performance by an American cultural organization in North Korea. [Image via Getty]