Ken-david masur
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Kurt Masur
Music Director Emeritus, 1991–2002
Biography
b. Brieg, Silesia (now Brzeg, Poland) July 17, 1927
d. Greenwich, Connecticut, December 19, 2015
Kurt Masur was one of the most widely admired and respected musicians of his generation, not only as a distinguished conductor, but also as a humanist. A frequent guest conductor with the world’s leading orchestras, Masur held the lifetime title of Honorary Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He received numerous honorary degrees from American colleges and conservatories, and was a professor at the Leipzig Academy of Music from 1975 until his death. Musical America named Masur Musician of the Year for 1993, and in 1996 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor for Music from the National Arts Club. The following year, he was awarded the titles of Commander of the Legion of Honor from the Government of France and New York City Cultural Ambassador from the City of New York. In 1998, Masur celebrated 50 years as a professional conductor.
Before becoming the New York Philharmonic’s Music Direct
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Kurt Masur
German conductor (1927–2015)
Kurt Masur (German pronunciation:[ˈkʊʁtmaˈzuːɐ̯]; 18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros",[1] he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and also served as music director of the New York Philharmonic for about ten years. He made many recordings of classical music with major orchestras. Masur is also remembered for his actions to support peaceful demonstrations against the East German government in the 1989 demonstrations in Leipzig; those protests were part of the events leading up to the fall of the Berlin wall.
Biography
Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany (now Brzeg, Poland), and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. His father was an electrical engineer, and as a young boy he completed an electrician's apprenticeship; he occasionally worked in his father's shop. From ages 10 to 16, he took piano less
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Kurt Masur and Mendelssohn House
“From the beginning, I have said that the future must not appear grey; rather, the future is to expect even more of the audience – not only in terms of performances with high artistic standards, but also in terms of the willingness among the members of philharmonic orchestras to open themselves up to new musical influences and to discover the visions of young composers.”
Kurt Masur in an interview with Phillip Booth, 28 December 1999
From the city of music Leipzig, Kurt Masur's musical path as principal conductor led to many other international orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1991 to 2002), the London Philharmonic (2000 to 2007) and the Orchestre National France (2002 to 2008), and he was a welcome guest with many renowned orchestras around the world.
Kurt Masur's time with the New York Philharmonic was marked by many extraordinary events. They ranged from sumptuous, top-class gala concerts to very casual public concerts in Central Park. In 1992, the orchestra celebrated its 150th anniversary
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