His grandfather Isaac Maazel (1873–1925), born in Poltava, Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire, was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra.

[3] He and his wife Esther Glazer (1879–1921), originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire, came to North America in 1900 after the birth of their eldest son Marvin (1899–1988), who later became a pianist and composer.

Maazel was brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in the city of Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood.

By 1943 he emerged as the conductor of the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra at New York City's Lewisohn Stadium performing César Franck's Symphony in D minor.

The list of soloists included George Gershwin's friend, Jesús María Sanromá, Carolyn Long and Theodor Uppman.

At the age of 13, Lorin Maazel was introduced to the citizens of Cleveland in a pension fund concert at Public Hall on March 14, 1943.

He conducted a selection of pieces that included the overture from Wagner’s opera Rienzi and Schubert’s “Unfinished” symphony, and his orchestra featured 14-year-old prodigy Patricia Travers on violin.

[19] It was Artur Rodziński, in the midst of defending his decision to leave Cleveland for a post with the New York Philharmonic, who half-jokingly stated: “Look [Maazel] over, he may be your next conductor.

This project launched on May 19, 1973, with a program that included music from Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess, Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait, and an English-language version of the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

[22] Because of a tightly-packed schedule, conducting duties were split between Maazel, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and former music director Erich Leinsdorf.

Although the appointment was still several years away, arrangements were made to have Maazel conduct The Cleveland Orchestra through the 1981-82 season before departing for Europe.

[27] During the final years of Maazel’s tenure in Cleveland, the Musical Arts Association launched a concert to honor the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which would become an annual tradition,[28] and the Orchestra hosted a 50th anniversary celebration for Severance Hall featuring the same program as the ensemble played on the concert hall’s opening night in 1931 — Bach’s Passacaglia in C Minor, Charles Martin Loeffler’s Invocation, Brahms’s First Symphony, and selections from Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.

In 1989, expecting to become successor to Herbert von Karajan as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Maazel suddenly and publicly severed all connections with the orchestra when it was announced that Claudio Abbado was to take over.

In 2000, Maazel made a guest-conducting appearance with the New York Philharmonic in two weeks of subscription concerts after an absence of over twenty years,[32] which met with positive reaction from the orchestra musicians.

His own compositions included a poorly reviewed opera, 1984, based on the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and a humorous work for orchestra, flute and narrator which he composed for James Galway: Irish Vapors and Capers.

[42] Maazel's catalogue contained over 300 recordings of works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, Richard Strauss and others.