Masur, Kurt

▪ 2000

      In 1999 German-born conductor Kurt Masur agreed to become the principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra while continuing in the post of music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Over the course of a conducting career that spanned five decades, he had earned a reputation as a humanist as well as a master musician who was particularly admired for the emotional expression he brought to masterpieces of the German Romantic repertoire.

      Masur was born on July 18, 1927, in Brieg, Ger. (now Brzeg, Pol.), and fought in the German army during the final months of World War II. He studied (1946–48) piano, conducting, and composition at the conservatory in Leipzig and planned on a career as a pianist until a debilitating condition of the hand forced him to turn to conducting. His career began in opera houses and concert halls in various German towns and cities. In the mid-1950s he became conductor of the Dresden (E.Ger.) Philharmonic, his first post with a major orchestra, and from 1960 to 1964 he was music director of the Komische Oper in East Berlin. From 1970 to 1996 he was music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus, an orchestra with one of the oldest and most illustrious histories in Europe. At a time when travel by East Germans was restricted, Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra were allowed to tour in the West, and he appeared as a guest conductor with a number of orchestras elsewhere in Europe and in the U.S.

      Despite opportunities to move to the West, Masur remained in East Germany. He headed the effort in Leipzig to build a new concert hall, which was completed in 1981, to replace a building destroyed in World War II. He also taught at the Leipzig Academy of Music beginning in 1975. In 1989, when violence threatened to erupt as the East German communist government crumbled, Masur read a speech in public and used his influence to maintain peace in the city. In 1990 he was mentioned as a candidate for the largely honorary position of president of the reunified Germany, but he held a press conference to remove his name from consideration.

      After becoming music director of the New York Philharmonic in 1991, he was credited with reinvigorating the orchestra and raising its standards of music making. During his tenure he initiated outreach programs aimed at taking the orchestra's music to a wider audience, and he became an advocate of music education in schools. The orchestra made a number of recordings under Masur, and with him it presented a series of concerts that were televised and broadcast live. Some critics found Masur's programming to be overly conservative, however, and it was announced that he would leave the orchestra at the expiration of his contract in 2002. His five-year contract with the London Philharmonic Orchestra was to begin in 2000.

      Among Masur's many awards and honours were Germany's Cross of the Order of Merit (1995) and the French Legion of Honour (1997). In 1993 he was named Musician of the Year by Musical America.

Robert Rauch

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▪ German conductor

born July 18, 1927, Brieg, Ger. [now Brzeg, Pol.]

 

 German conductor, known for his hearfelt interpretations of the German Romantic repertoire, who rose to prominence in East Germany in the 1970s.

      Masur studied piano and cello at the National Music School in Breslau, Ger. (now Wrocław, Pol.), from 1942 to 1944. He then studied conducting, piano, and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory (now Leipzig Academy of Music and Theatre) from 1946 to 1948. He spent the next seven years conducting in regional East German opera houses before securing a position as conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic in 1955. After working in Mecklenburg (1958–60) and Berlin (1960–64), among other cities, he rejoined the Dresden orchestra from 1967 to 1972. During his long tenure as conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (1970–96), Masur became internationally known and toured widely throughout the world. He was noted for his comprehensive repertoire, which featured the works of German Romantic composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Gustav Mahler.

      A prestigious cultural figure in East Germany, Masur participated in the popular agitation that led to the fall of the communist government in late 1989. As music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1991 to 2002, he was credited with reinvigorating the orchestra and raising its standards of performance. From 2000 he was principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he recorded and toured extensively, and from 2002 he was also musical director of the Orchestre National de France. While holding the two positions he continued to appear as guest conductor with a number of major orchestras in the United States and Europe.

      Masur was passionate about music and conducting, and he often gave master classes in conducting at major conservatories. He was professor at the Leipzig Academy of Music and Theatre from 1975. Masur reflected on the mission of the conductor in an interview with the British music critic Hilary Finch, who reported that in every performance Masur “feels the responsibility to bring to the audience the true message of the composer. ‘For that it takes inspiration from the conductor—but also the spirit, the imagination of the orchestra.'”

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