Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German
conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", 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. He left many recordings of classical music played by major orchestras. Masur is also remembered for his actions to support peaceful demonstrations in the
1989 anti-government demonstrations in Leipzig; the protests were part of the events leading up to the
fall of the Berlin wall.
Biography
Masur was born in
Brieg,
Lower Silesia,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
(now
Brzeg,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
), and studied piano, composition and conducting in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...
.
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 lessons with Katharina Hartmann.
In October 1944 the Nazis announced that all men between the ages of 16 and 60 could be conscripted, which included the young conductor. Masur was drafted into the paratroopers late in 1944.
He was sent to fight; "
t of the 150 people of his unit, only 27
ncluding Masursurvived", before being captured by American and British forces on 1 May 1945. Masur and his family were lucky: not a single family member died in the war.
From 1946 until 1948, he studied conducting, composition and piano at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. He left at 21, never finishing his studies, when offered a job as
répétiteur at the
Landestheater Halle an der Saale (since renamed as the Halle Opera House, or Opernhaus Halle in German).
Masur was married three times, and had a total of five children. His first marriage to Brigitte Stütze produced three children, and it ended in divorce in 1966. He and his second wife, Irmgard Elsa Kaul, had a daughter, Carolin Masur, who became an opera singer. Irmgard died in 1972 in a car accident in which Masur was severely injured.
In 1975, he married his third wife, soprano and violist, Tomoko Sakurai: they had one son, Ken-David, a classical singer and conductor.
Conducting career
Masur conducted 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 ...
for three years ending in 1958 and again from 1967 to 1972. He also worked with the
Komische Oper of
East Berlin. In 1970, he became
Kapellmeister of the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, serving in that post until 1996. With that orchestra, he performed
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the celebration of
German reunification in 1990.
In 1991, Masur became music director of the
New York Philharmonic (NYP). He was an unexpected choice who brought needed change to that orchestra.
"Masur's appointment was a clear signal that it was time for the orchestra to begin anew."
Former concertmaster Glenn Dicterow said in 2012 "It takes a big personality to unite 105 players onstage — to get everybody to be as inspired as he is — and, uh, it's hard work, . . And he's just so demanding and intense that I think that he got, just by his sheer intensity of his personality, I think it sort of transformed most of us."
Masur directed the Philharmonic in a performance of Brahms's ''
Ein deutsches Requiem'' in the aftermath of the
terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001.
During his tenure, there were reports of tension between Masur and the NYP's Executive Director at the time,
Deborah Borda, which eventually contributed to his contract not being renewed beyond 2002. In a television interview with
Charlie Rose, Masur stated that regarding his leaving the NYP, "it was not my wish". Masur stood down as the NYP's music director in 2002 and was named its Music Director Emeritus, a new title created for him. The critical consensus was that Masur improved the playing of the orchestra over his tenure.
In 2000, Masur became principal conductor of the
London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) and held this position until 2007. In April 2002, Masur became music director of the
Orchestre National de France (ONF) and served in this post until 2008, when he took the title of honorary music director of the ONF. On his 80th birthday, 18 July 2007, Masur conducted musicians from both orchestras at a
Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
concert in London. Masur held the lifetime title of Honorary Guest Conductor of the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2012, following a series of cancellations of concert engagements, Masur disclosed on his website that he had
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...
.
Political views
Although Masur spent most of his professional career in
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
, he never joined the
SED.
In 1982, he received the
National Prize of East Germany. His attitude to the regime began to change in 1989, after the arrest of a street musician in Leipzig. On 9 October 1989, he intervened in
anti-government demonstrations in Leipzig in communist East Germany, negotiating an end to a confrontation that could have resulted in security forces attacking the protesters, one month before the
fall of the Berlin wall.
Death
In 2015, Masur died at the age of 88 in
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and othe ...
, from complications of
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...
. His funeral was held in the
Thomaskirche in Leipzig, with music played by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Thomanerchor. Burial took place in the South Leipzig Cemetery, called
Südfriedhof. He was survived by his third wife, as well as his daughters Angelika and Carolin, his sons,
Ken-David, Michael and Matthias, and nine grandchildren.
Awards
A professor at the
Leipzig Academy of Music since 1975, Masur received numerous honors. In 1995, he received the Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He received the Gold Medal of Honor for Music from the
National Arts Club
The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote publ ...
in 1996. in 1997 he received the titles of
Commander of the Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
from the French government (Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur), and New York City Cultural Ambassador from the City of New York. In 1999 he received the Commander Cross of Merit of the Polish Republic.
In 2002, President of Germany
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician (SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In th ...
awarded him the Cross with Star of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; in 2007, President of Germany
Horst Köhler bestowed upon him the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit with Star and Ribbon; in 2008, he received the
Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize in
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
, Germany. Masur was also an Honorary Citizen of his hometown Brieg. In 2001, Masur became an Honorary Member of the
Royal Academy of Music.
In 2010, he received the
Leo Baeck Medal (
Leo Baeck Institute) for his humanitarian work promoting tolerance and social justice. He received a Award in 2014 for his work in public policy.
On 18 July 2018, which would have been Masur's 91st birthday, Google featured him in a
Google Doodle in the United States, Germany, Belarus, Iceland, and Japan.
References
External links
*
Discography of Kurt Masur*
*
*
8 June 1988
Leo Baeck Institute, "Leo Baeck Medal for Kurt Masur", 10 November 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masur, Kurt
1927 births
2015 deaths
German male conductors (music)
Music directors of the New York Philharmonic
20th-century German conductors (music)
20th-century German male musicians
21st-century German conductors (music)
21st-century German male musicians
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig faculty
Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony
Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music
Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin
Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany
People from the Province of Lower Silesia
People from Brzeg
20th-century male musicians
Fallschirmjäger of World War II
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom