Walter Susskind

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Walter Susskind (1950)

Walter Susskind (born Jan Susskind ; born May 1, 1913 in Prague ; † March 25, 1980 in Berkeley ) was an English conductor of Czech origin.

Career

Susskind studied piano with Karel Hoffmeister and composition with Josef Suk and Alois Hába at the Prague Conservatory , as well as conducting with George Szell . After graduation he became Szell's assistant at the Deutsche Oper in Prague. From 1933 he was also the pianist of the Czech Trio .

In 1938 he fled to Londen before the German occupation of Czechoslovakia; In 1946 he received British citizenship. Until 1942 he was still a member of the Czech Trio . From 1943 to 1945 he directed the Carl Rosa Opera Company in London, from 1946 to 1953 the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow and from 1953 to 1955 the Victoria Symphony Orchestra in Melbourne. With the Philharmonia Orchestra he recorded the violin concertos of Sibelius (1945, with Ginette Neveu ), Tchaikovsky and William Waltons (1950, with Jascha Heifetz ).

In 1956 Susskind became musical director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra , which he directed until 1965. In addition, he was musical director of the Aspen Music Festival from 1962 to 1968 . In 1968 he became the conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra , which under his direction developed into one of the leading symphony orchestras in the USA by 1975. He also directed the Mississippi River Festival in Edwardsville, Illinois from 1969 to 1975 .

From 1978 until his death, Susskind was Principal Guest Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra . He has also worked as a guest conductor with major orchestras in Europe and North America and taught at the University of Southern Illinois from 1968 to 1975 and mentored young conductors including Leonard Slatkin and Gerhardt Zimmermann . His discography as a conductor includes more than 50 albums with musicians such as Arthur Rubenstein , Glenn Gould , Dennis Brain , Pierre Fournier , Joan Hammond , Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , Kirsten Flagstad , Lili Kraus , Szymon Goldberg , Yehudi Menuhin , Artur Schnabel , Leonard Pennario , Shura Cherkassky , Ginette Neveu, Tito Gobbi and Victoria de los Ángeles .

swell

personal data
SURNAME Susskind, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Susskind, Jan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English conductor of Czech origin
DATE OF BIRTH May 1, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1980
Place of death Berkeley