Ľudovít Rajter (; 30 July 1906 – 6 July 2000) was a Slovak

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and conductor from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

Early life and education

Rajter's

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

family had roots among the German-Hungarian and Dutch communities. His father was a teacher, cantor, and choral conductor in the

Lutheran church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

. Rajter's family migrated from southern Germany to Hungary during the reign of

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

(1740–1780). At the time, the family surname was spelled "Raiter" or "Rayter." Rajter's family spoke Hungarian,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and Slovak. Rajter began his musical training with his father, Lajos Rajter Sr. (1880–1945). From 1915 to 1920, he studied with Alexander Albrecht at the Musical School for Slovakia (now a Conservatory) in Bratislava. In 1924, he enrolled at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where he studied composition with Franz Schmidt and

Joseph Marx Joseph Rupert Rudolf Marx (11 May 1882 – 3 September 1964) was an Austrian composer, teacher and critic. Life and career Marx was born in Graz and pursued studies in philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at Graz University, earnin ...

, and conducted with

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conducting, conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. He founded the Vienna New Year's Concert ...

and Alexander Wunderer. Rajter served as an assistant to Clemens Krauss until 1933.

Early career

After completing his studies in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, he taught at the Municipal Music School in Bratislava and the Mozarteum Summer School in Salzburg. In 1931, he moved to the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

, located in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, where he studied under

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish language, Finnish and Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator *Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hunga ...

. In January 1932, he appeared for the first time as a guest conductor on Hungarian Radio, and became its official conductor in 1934. In 1935, he became the first chief conductor of the national broadcaster in Budapest, a position he held until 1944. During these years he also served as a professor at the Academy of Music in Budapest. Rajter conducted several European orchestras and premiered works by Hungarian composers, including Ernő Dohnányi's Symphonic Minuets.

Later career

In 1946, Rajter returned to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, and served as chief conductor of the Czechoslovak Radio Orchestra in Bratislava until 1949. That year, he co-founded (together with Václav Talich) the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, and became its first conductor. During the Stalinist period, the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

deemed Rajter "politically non-reliable," which led to a prohibition on his work as a conductor. After Stalin died in 1953, this restriction was lifted, and he remained with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra until 1961 when Ladislav Slovák succeeded him as chief conductor. In 1966, Rajter led a conducting masterclass at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg during the Summer Academy. In 1968, he returned as the chief conductor of the Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. In 1970, he conducted

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's complete cycle of nine symphonies for the first time in Bratislava, a project that earned him the Ján Levoslav Bella Prize the following year. He taught at the newly founded Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava from 1949 to 1976. After his rehabilitation in 1991, he was awarded the title of

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

. He remained active as a conductor well into his later years, receiving invitations to conduct foreign orchestras in the 1990s. In 1991, Hungary appointed Rajter an honorary member for life of the

Symphony Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

Albums (selection)

* Alexander Moyzes: Down The River Váh & Dances From The Hron Region, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra (Supraphon, OPUS) * Eugen Suchoň: Metamorfózy,

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...

(Supraphon, OPUS) * Ján Cikker: Spomienky,

(Supraphon, OPUS) * Brahms: Symphonies 1 - 4, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra (OPUS) * Franz Schmidt: Symphonies 1 - 4, Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (OPUS) * Zemlinsky: Symphony No. 1 & Das Gläserne Herz, Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Marco Polo) * Ludovit Rajter: Orchestral Works,

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (''Janáčkova filharmonie Ostrava'') is a Czech orchestra based in Ostrava. Named after composer Leoš Janáček, the orchestra performs its concerts at the City of Ostrava Cultural Centre. History The root ...

(CPO)

Honors

* 1936: Dr.h.c. New York College of Music * 1946: City of Bratislava award * 1971: Prize of the Union of Slovak Composers * 1987: The Gold Achievement Award of the publishing house OPUS, Bratislava (SK) * 1989: National Artist of Czechoslovakia * 1994: Bartók-Pásztory Award (Bartók-Pásztory-Díj) * 1994: The Mayor of Bratislava Award * 1996: Ján Levoslav Bella Prize * 1997: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art of the 1st Class * 1997:

Order of Ľudovít Štúr The Order of Ľudovít Štúr () is the third highest Slovak state decoration (after the Order of the White Double Cross and the Orders, decorations, and medals of Slovakia#Andrej Hlinka Order, Order of Andrej Hlinka) conferred by the President ...

, 1st Class * 1997: Honorary Cross for Science and Art of the Republic of Austria, 1st Class * 1998: Crystal Wing * 1999: Honorary chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic * 2000: Honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts * 2005: Entry in the Golden Book of SOZA (Performing and Mechanical Rights Society) * 2007: Pribina Cross of the first class / in memoriam (Pribinov kríž 1. triedy) * 2011: Fra Angelico in memoriam Award * 2017: Ján Cikker Price in memoriam (cena Jána Cikkera)

References

Prof. Dr. h. c. Ľudovít Rajter
(online, Slovak)
Biography, list of works, bibliography, etc
(archived) * ''Új szó,'' Bratislava, 29. July 2006 (Hungarian) * Legendárny dirigent očami syna Adriana: Slávu sme neriešili – Aktuality.sk (Slovak), ��A Legendary Conductor Seen Through the Eyes of His Son Adrian“ 1. August 2010 (www.aktuality.sk) * Mesto Pezinok , Ľudovít Rajter (www.pezinok.sk) (Slovak) * Ľudovít Rajter: Symphonische Werke (CD) – jpc (i
https://www.jpc.de)/
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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajter, Ludovit 1906 births 2000 deaths Slovak male composers Hungarian composers Hungarian male composers Slovak conductors (music) Hungarian male conductors (music) University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni 20th-century Slovak composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Hungarian male musicians Slovak male musicians