Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur was a world-renowned conductor best known for his 11-year-long residence with the New York Philharmonic, which he took over from Zubin Mehta in 1991. Masur famously tamed the Philharmonic, which was known at the time for the big egos of its musicians.
Masur was born in Brieg, Germany — now Brzeg, Poland. He studied piano, composition and conducting at the Music College of Leipzig, and was appointed the conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic in East Germany in 1955. He later spent 26 years in charge of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, and toured the U.S. with the Orchestra in 1974. On October 9, 1989, he famously intervened in anti-government demonstrations in Leipzig in East Germany, helping to negotiate the confrontation, prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Kurt Masur was a world-renowned conductor best known for his 11-year-long residence with the New York Philharmonic, which he took over from Zubin Mehta in 1991. Masur famously tamed the Philharmonic, which was known at the time for the big egos of its musicians.
Masur was born in Brieg, Germany — now Brzeg, Poland. He studied piano, composition and conducting at the Music College of Leipzig, and was appointed the conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic in East Germany in 1955. He later spent 26 years in charge of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, and toured the U.S. with the Orchestra in 1974. On October 9, 1989, he famously intervened in anti-government demonstrations in Leipzig in East Germany, helping to negotiate the confrontation, prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Masur also contributed to television, serving as a performer on the soundtrack for the 1992 television movie Stalin, starring Robert Duvall. The telefilm won four Emmy Awards and was nominated for six more, in addition to three Golden Globe wins. Masur was also the conductor for an episode of Live from Lincoln Center, for the 1999 New York Philharmonic Opening Night Gala. And in 2001, he acted as the musical director for an installment of PBS’s Great Performances, for “Joshua Bell: West Side Story Suite from Central Park.” For his 80th birthday, Masur led the Gewandhaus Orchestra in a special gala concert. The special, Kurt Masur: A Life in Music, was televised in Germany in 2007.
After his departure from the Philharmonic in 2002, the conductor was named the Orchestra’s music director emeritus, an honorary title previously held only by Leonard Bernstein.
Masur died December 19, 2015, in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 88.
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