Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300087130
- eISBN:
- 9780300129274
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300087130.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Bruno Walter, one of the greatest conductors in the twentieth century, lived a fascinating life in difficult times. This book starts by describing Walter's early years in Germany, where his successes ...
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Bruno Walter, one of the greatest conductors in the twentieth century, lived a fascinating life in difficult times. This book starts by describing Walter's early years in Germany, where his successes in provincial theaters led to positions at the Berlin State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. It then tells of his decade-long term as Bavarian music director and his romantic involvement with the soprano Delia Reinhardt; his other positions in the musical community until he was ousted from Germany when the Nazi Party came to power in 1933; and his return to Vienna, where he was artistic director of the Opera House until he was again forced out by the Nazis. Finally it examines his career in the United States, where he led the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras and in his last years made numerous recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble created especially for him. The book makes use of the thousands of unpublished letters in the Bruno Walter Papers, now in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.Less
Bruno Walter, one of the greatest conductors in the twentieth century, lived a fascinating life in difficult times. This book starts by describing Walter's early years in Germany, where his successes in provincial theaters led to positions at the Berlin State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. It then tells of his decade-long term as Bavarian music director and his romantic involvement with the soprano Delia Reinhardt; his other positions in the musical community until he was ousted from Germany when the Nazi Party came to power in 1933; and his return to Vienna, where he was artistic director of the Opera House until he was again forced out by the Nazis. Finally it examines his career in the United States, where he led the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras and in his last years made numerous recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble created especially for him. The book makes use of the thousands of unpublished letters in the Bruno Walter Papers, now in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.