Rudolf, Max

▪ 1996

      German-born U.S. conductor (b. June 15, 1902, Frankfurt am Main, Germany—d. Feb. 28/March 1, 1995, Philadelphia, Pa.), was conductor (1945-58) and music administrator (1950-58) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and music director of the Cincinnati (Ohio) Symphony (1958-70), but he was perhaps best known for his long association (1970-95) as a teacher, adviser, and head of the opera and conducting departments at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Rudolf studied piano, organ, cello, trumpet, and composition as a child. He began to compose chamber music at age 12 and made his debut as assistant conductor of the Stadtische Theater in Freiburg, Germany, in 1923. After serving as associate conductor of the German Theatre in Prague (1929-35) and guest conductor for the Berlin Philharmonic (1929-30), he left Germany for Göteborg, Sweden. He moved to the U.S. in 1940 and taught in Chicago before joining the Met in 1945. Rudolf's highly influential textbook, The Grammar of Conducting, was published in 1950.

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