Erich Leinsdorf
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Biography
[Edit]Erich Leinsdorf was one of the most respected (if not always well-liked) European-born conductors and music directors to achieve prominence in America after World War II. An acclaimed operatic conductor, whose recordings of Turandot and Madame Butterfly from the end of the 1950's remain among the most popular in the catalog, his reputation as a conductor of orchestral music hasn't survived quite as well.
He was born Erich Landauer in Vienna, Austria, and by the age of five was enrolled in a local music school, beginning piano studies at age eight. He subsequently studied at the music department of the University of Vienna, and from 1931 until 1933 took courses at the Vienna Conservatory, making his debut at the podium at the Musikvereinsaal upon graduation. He became the assistant conductor of the Workers' Chorus in Vienna in 1933, and a year later successfully auditioned before Bruno Walter and Arturo Toscanini at the Salzburg Festival, where he was appointed an assistant, serving under Toscanini.
Leinsdorf was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1937, and his American debut took place there, at age 25, when he conducted Wagner's Die Walkure on Jan. 21 of 1938. His success with other Wagner operas led to his appointment at the Met in 1939 as head of the company's German repertoire. It was while at the Met that he began developing a reputation as a strict taskmaster, demanding more rehearsal time from his singers and extremely precise fidelity to the written score by his orchestras—although the audiences appreciated the results he achieved, many of the singers he worked with were highly critical of his work and the demands he made upon them.
He took American citizenship in 1942, and the following year he was appointed music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. He had no time to achieve much in the new post, however, as Leinsdorf was inducted into the United States Army in December of that year. He was discharged in 1944, and returned to the Met, where he conducted during the 1944-45 season. During 1945 and 1946, he also conducted the Cleveland Orchestra on several occasions, and returned to Europe where, as one of a group of major Austrian-born conductors who had no connections with the Nazis, he was engaged to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic. He found his reception in the city of his birth, first overrun by the Nazis, then bombed and invaded by the Allies and starved in the immediate wake of World War II, however, to be less than entirely cordial.
By 1947, he was back in the United States as music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in upstate New York, a post he held until 1955. Leinsdorf served as music director of the New York City Opera for part of 1956, before returning to the Met as a conductor and musical consultant, amid numerous guest conductor assignments in America and Europe. In 1962, Leinsdorf succeeded to one of the most prestigious musical posts in America, as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Charles Munch. Leinsdorf's tenure at Boston was extremely productive but stormy. He found the political considerations of a music directorship, juggling the demands of individual musicians, their unions and existing work and rehearsal rules, and the board of directors, to be a distraction from his musical goals. Additionally, it was during this period that Leinsdorf became known for being openly critical of the shortcomings, in terms of education, of the musicians working under him (especially gaps in their cultural educations), errors in published scores of established musical works, and the errors made by his fellow conductors.
He resigned the Boston post with the 1968-69 season, happy to have served in one of the most exalted musical positions in the United States, but equally happy, in his own words, to have exited with his health intact. Leinsdorf conducted opera and concert performances throughout the United States and Europe for the next two decades, including work with the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. In 1978, he took up his first permanent post in Europe, was principal conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in West Berlin, a post he held until 1980. In 1976, he published Cadenza: A Musical Career, a memoir that was as noted for its candid, brutally honest assessments of himself and his fellow musicians as for the biographical details it offered. He continued recording until the final years of his performing career, at the end of the 1980's, including audiophile digital performances of Wagner orchestral music for the Sheffield Labs label.
Erich Leinsdorf's greatest operatic achievements on record, Turandot and Madame Butterfly, remain in print on compact disc more than 30 years after they were recorded, but his orchestral recordings haven't fared as well. Mostly confined to RCA/BMG with the Boston Symphony, a relative handful of these have appeared on budget CD reissues (mostly BMG's "Silver Seal" label), including a Mahler Fifth Symphony that is no longer really competitive with other versions out there (at the time it was recorded in the mid-1960's, it was one of perhaps four or five versions, not one of 60 as it is today); ironically, his Mahler Symphony No. 3, one of the finest things he ever did, and one of the better performances of this monumental work ever done, remains out-of-print, and well worth owning on vinyl. ~ Bruce Eder
Mahler Symphony No. 5 RCA/BMG [5]
Symphony No. 3RCA [8] (out-of-print)
MozartDon GiovanniLondon [7]
Puccini Madame ButterflyRCA/BMG [7]
TurandotRCA/BMG [8], Rovi
Title: Leinsdorf Conducts Prokofiev (CD4)
Artist: Prokofiev, Sergei Sergeevich, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Classical
Title: Wagner: Tannhäuser 1941 / Wagner: Tannhauser 1941
Artist: Erich Leinsdorf, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Genre: Classical
Title: Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Highlights)
Artist: Erich Leinsdorf, Rome Opera Orchestra
Genre: Opera
Title: The Leinsdorf Sessions: Erich Leinsdorf Centennial
Artist: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Orchestral, Classical, Orchestral
Title: Leinsdorf Conducts Prokofiev (CD6)
Artist: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Classical
Title: The Barber of Baghdad
Artist: Nicolai Gedda, Philharmonia Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre:
Title: Copland: Music for the Theatre (Live, 1985) - EP
Artist: New York Philharmonic, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Orchestral, Classical, Orchestral
Title: Verdi: Aida
Artist: London Symphony Orchestra And Chorus, Erich Leinsdorf
Title: Absolutely Classical, Volume 106
Artist: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre:
Title: Richter in America (Live)
Artist: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sviatoslav Richter, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre:
Title: Erich Leinsdorf Conducts Beethoven: Symphonies 1 - 9
Artist: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Classical
Title: R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos
Artist: Wiener Philharmoniker, Jan Peerce, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Classical
Title: Wagner: Die Walküre (3 CDs) / Wagner: Die Walkure (3 CDs)
Artist: Jon Vickers, Birgit Nilsson, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Classical
Title: Absolutely Classical, Volume 107
Artist: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre:
Title: Mozart for Relaxation
Artist: Leontyne Price, James Galway, Suk Josef, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Tatiana Troyanos, Alicia De Larrocha, Guarneri Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, English Chamber Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra Of Europe, London Symphony Orchestra And Chorus, Ezio Flagello, Richard Stoltzman, Marisa Robles, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Alexander Schneider, Colin Davis, Erich Leinsdorf, Eduardo Mata, Julius Levine, Libor Hlaváček / Libor Hlavacek, Winds Of The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Genre: Classical
Title: Stravinsky: Agon - Schuller: Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee
Artist: Erich Leinsdorf
Genre:
Artist: Erich Leinsdorf, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra Of London
Genre:
Title: Verdi: Heroines
Artist: Leontyne Price, John Newton, Robert Merrill, Carlo Bergonzi, Giorgio Tozzi, Mario Sereni, Shirley Verrett, Julia Hamari, Ezio Flagello, Reri Grist, Hartje Mueller, Laura Londi, Erich Leinsdorf, Arturo Basile, Daniel Guss, Oliviero De Fabritiis, Rome Opera Orchestra, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Thomas Schippers, RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra, RCA Italiana Opera Chorus, Fernando Iacopucci, Robert El Hage, Corinne Vozza
Genre: Opera
Title: Tchaikovsky & Sibelius Violin Concertos
Artist: Itzhak Perlman, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre: Classical
Title: Artists of the Century: Leontyne Price
Artist: Leontyne Price, Herbert Von Karajan, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Robert Merrill, RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra And Chorus, Carlo Bergonzi, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Shirley Verrett, Franco Corelli, Wiener Staatsopernchor, John McCarthy, London Symphony Orchestra And Chorus, Fritz Reiner, Ezio Flagello, Skitch Henderson, Patricia Clark, Mario Carlin, Reri Grist, Laura Londi, Erich Leinsdorf, Arturo Basile, John Pfeiffer, Oliviero De Fabritiis, Rome Opera Orchestra, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Thomas Schippers, RCA Victor Orchestra, Fausto Cleva, RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra, Wilhelm Pitz, Edward Downes, RCA Italiana Opera Chorus, Peter Herman Adler
Genre: Rock, Traditional Pop Music, Classical, Opera
Title: Absolutely Classical, Volume 104
Artist: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
Genre:
Title: Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4
Artist: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf, Richard Mohr, John Browning
Genre: Classical
Title: Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 5 & Weill
Artist: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf, John Browning, Peter Dellheim
Genre: Classical
Collections
Title: Mozart: Symphony No. 40 & 32, Piano Concerto No. 26 & 8
Genre:
Title: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" (Basic 100, Vol. 16)
Genre:
Title: Absolute Masterworks - Beethoven
Genre:
Title: Pure... Classical (CD3)
Genre: Classical
Title: Baritone And Bass Arias: The Definitive Collection
Genre: Classical
Title: Beethoven: The 50 Best Classical Masterpieces
Genre: Classical
Title: Work From Home With Mozart (CD1)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart - A Journey (CD2)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart - A Journey (CD4)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart - A Journey (CD5)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart - A Journey (CD7)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart - A Journey (CD6)
Genre: Classical
Title: The Magic Of Mozart (CD2)
Genre: Classical
Title: The Magic Of Mozart (CD4)
Genre: Classical
Title: The Magic Of Mozart (CD5)
Genre: Classical
Title: The Magic Of Mozart (CD6)
Genre: Classical
Title: The Magic Of Mozart (CD7)
Genre: Classical
Title: The Power Of Mozart (CD1)
Genre: Classical
Title: Focus With Mozart (CD2)
Genre: Classical
Title: Focus With Mozart (CD4)
Genre: Classical
Title: Focus With Mozart (CD5)
Genre: Classical
Title: Focus With Mozart (CD6)
Genre: Classical
Title: Focus With Mozart (CD7)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart For The Mind (CD2)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart For The Mind (CD4)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart For The Mind (CD5)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart For The Mind (CD6)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart For The Mind (CD7)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classical Legends: Mozart (CD2)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classical Legends: Mozart (CD5)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classical Legends: Mozart (CD6)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classical Legends: Mozart (CD7)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classical Legends: Mozart (CD4)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart: A Life Of Music (CD2)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart: A Life Of Music (CD4)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart: A Life Of Music (CD5)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart: A Life Of Music (CD6)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart: A Life Of Music (CD7)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classically Mozart (CD2)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classically Mozart (CD4)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classically Mozart (CD5)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classically Mozart (CD6)
Genre: Classical
Title: Classically Mozart (CD7)
Genre: Classical
Title: Mozart - Winter Vibes (CD1)
Genre: Classical
Title: Musique Classique Triste
Genre: Classical
Title: Tenor Arias: The Definitive Collection
Genre: Classical
Featuring albums
Title: Brahms: Concerto No. 2, Op. 83 - Beethoven: Sonata No. 23, Op. 57
Artist: Sviatoslav Richter
Genre:
Title: The Voice of Leontyne Price
Artist: Leontyne Price, Wiener Philharmoniker, Rome Opera House Orchestra
Genre: Rock, Traditional Pop Music
Title: Strawinsky: The Rite of Spring - Firebird Suite
Artist: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Genre:
Title: Vienna Philharmonic New Year Concert
Artist: Wiener Philharmoniker, Willi Boskovsky
Genre: Orchestral, Orchestral
Title: La Damoiselle Élue - Opera Arias / La Damoiselle Elue - Opera Arias
Artist: Bidu Sayao
Genre: Opera
Title: Verdi: Macbeth - Complete Recording (Opera in 4 Acts, Rec. 1959)
Artist: Leonie Rysanek, Carlo Bergonzi, Jerome Hines, Leonard Warren, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Osie Hawkins, Gerhard Pechner, Calvin Marsh, Carlotta Ordassy, William Olvis, Mildred Allen, Harold Sternberg, Emila Cundari
Genre: Opera
Title: Mozart 250 - A Celebration of the Genius of Mozart
Artist: Wiener Philharmoniker, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Mozarteum - Orchester Salzburg, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Tokyo String Quartet, English Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra And Chorus, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn / Wurttembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn
Genre:
Title: The Pearl Fishers Duet, Duets and Scenes
Artist: Jussi Björling / Jussi Bjorling
Genre: Opera
Title: Voices of Opera: Baritones and Basses
Artist: Ingvar Wixell, José Van Dam / Jose Van Dam, René Pape / Rene Pape, Theo Adam, Robert Lloyd, Tito Gobbi, Hermann Prey, Dietrich Fischer - Dieskau, Simon Keenlyside, Cesare Siepi, Ettore Bastianini, Thomas Allen, Renato Bruson, Kurt Moll, Matti Salminen, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Neal Davies, Simon Estes, Walter Berry, Bryn Terfel, Gerald Finley, Thomas Quasthoff, Trevor Anthony, John Reed, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Wladimiro Ganzarolli, Matthias Goerne, Hans Hotter, Ludwig Weber, Eberhard Wachter
Genre: Opera
Title: Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps 100th Anniversary Collectors Edition
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Classical
Title: Brahms: Concerto No. 2, Op. 83/Beethoven: Sonata No. 23, Op. 57
Artist: Sviatoslav Richter
Genre: Classical
Title: Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade/ Capriccio Espagnol/ Russian Easter Overture
Artist: Andrew Litton
Genre: Classical
Title: Greatest Hits
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Electronica, House, Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Soul, Jazz, Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop