Kurt Peter Eichhorn (4 August 1908 – 29 June 1994), was a German conductor. Eichhorn was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, the son of a painter. He studied music at the conservatory in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

with

Hermann Zilcher Hermann Zilcher (18 August 1881 – 1 January 1948) was a German composer, pianist, conductor, and music teacher. His compositional oeuvre includes orchestral and choral works, two operas, chamber music and songs, études, piano works, and nume ...

and progressed through provincial houses. His conducting debut was in 1932 as a conductor and choral conductor in Bielefeld. He also worked as a conductor in Teplitz-Schönau and Karlsbad. Hitler's annexation of the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

provided Eichhorn with career openings in

Teplice Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The his ...

(1939) and

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

(1941–1943). He began conducting at the far more significant Dresden State Opera in 1941, and was a conductor of the

Dresden Philharmonic The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the ''Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche, the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, and the ...

in 1944.Kurt Eichhorn

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Retrieved 17 January 2013. The postwar years found him back in his hometown of Munich. From 1945, he directed the

Munich Philharmonic Orchestra The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Rad ...

, the Bavarian People's Opera, and taught conducting at the Munich Academy of Music. From 1956 to 1967, he was chief conductor of the State Theatre at the Gärtnerplatz in Munich. He was chief conductor of the

Munich Radio Orchestra The Munich Radio Orchestra (German: ''Münchner Rundfunkorchester'') is a German symphony broadcast orchestra based in Munich. It is one of the two orchestras affiliated with the Bavarian Radio (Bayerischer Rundfunk), the other being the Bavarian ...

from 1967 to 1975. He was appointed honorary conductor of the

Bruckner Orchestra in Linz The Bruckner Orchester Linz is an Austrian orchestra based in Linz. Named for Anton Bruckner, the orchestra is the concert orchestra for the state of Upper Austria, and also the opera orchestra at the Landestheater Linz (Upper Austrian State Theat ...

, with which he began a recording cycle of the symphonies of

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

, but this project remained unfinished when he died at Murnau. He was noted for his recordings of the music of

Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata ''Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Car ...

. In 1991, the Bruckner Association of Upper Austria awarded him the Gold Plaque.

References

External links

Music Web International review of Carl Orff: The Ultimate Collection, January 2006
1908 births 1994 deaths German male conductors (music) Musicians from Munich People from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district) 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians Bayerischer Rundfunk people {{germany-conductor-stub