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Max Rudolf (June 15, 1902 — February 28, 1995) was a German conductor and music institute teacher. Rudolf was born in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, where he studied
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
,
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
and
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
. He was a
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
student of
Bernhard Sekles Bernhard Sekles (20 March 1872 – 8 December 1934) was a German composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue. Life and career Bernhard Sekles was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of Maximilian Seckeles and Anna (née Bischheim). The fami ...
at the
Hoch Conservatory Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...
in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
.''A musical life: writings and letters''. Max Rudolf, Michael Stern and Hanny Bleeker White. Published by Pendragon Press, 2001. He held positions in
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
as assistant conductor at the Städtisches Theater, and as second conductor at the Hessisches Staatstheater in
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
. In 1929, he became principal conductor of the German Theatre in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. In 1940, Rudolf emigrated to the United States, and took American citizenship in 1945. He served on the conducting staff of the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
between 1946 and 1958, and had the title of musical administrator of the company between 1950 and 1958. In 1958, Rudolf became music director of the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cincin ...
, and held this post until 1970. He was director of the
Cincinnati May Festival The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral festival, held in May in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. History The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when '' Saengerfests'' were held in that city, bringing singers from all over the United Sta ...
from 1963 to 1970. After his tenure in Cincinnati, Rudolf served as conductor of the
Dallas Symphony The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...
for a season (1973–1974), and artistic advisor of the
New Jersey Symphony The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concert seri ...
for the 1976–1977 season. Rudolf wrote ''The Grammar of Conducting'', a widely used text for orchestral conducting which was published in 1950. It was republished with revisions in 1980 and again in 1995. He was head of the opera and conducting department at the
Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...
from 1970 to 1973. He returned to the Curtis faculty under emeritus status in 1983, and remained so affiliated until his death. Rudolf and his wife Liese had two children. His widow, their son William, and their daughter Marianne survived him, as well as five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.


References


External links


An interview with Max Rudolf
by Bruce Duffie, January 21, 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf, Max 1902 births 1995 deaths German male conductors (music) German emigrants to the United States Texas classical music Decca Records artists Hoch Conservatory alumni 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians