Ferdinand Löwe (19 February 1865 – 6 January 1925) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n conductor.

Biography

Löwe was born 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. ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

where along with

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

his career was primarily centered. From 1896 Löwe conducted the Kaim Orchestra, today's

Munich Philharmonic The Munich Philharmonic () 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 Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian State Orche ...

, where he returned from 1908 to 1914. In 1900 Löwe founded and conducted the Wiener Concertvereinsorchester, today the

Vienna Symphony The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Theater an der Wien. History ...

. He taught at the Vienna Conservatoire from 1884. He was elected director in 1919 and served until 1922.

Bruckner

A pupil of

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

, Löwe was one of the main popularizers of Bruckner's symphonies. He would sometimes persuade the composer to rearrange his music in order to make it more palatable to the public. In the case of Bruckner's '' Symphony No. 9'', Löwe himself made significant changes to the harmony, orchestration, phrasing and dynamics before the posthumous premiere. Bruckner's original conception of the symphony was not heard until 1932 when it was revived by Siegmund von Hausegger, Löwe's successor at Munich. The symphony is today performed without Löwe's changes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loewe, Ferdinand Austrian male conductors (music) 1865 births 1925 deaths Musicians from Vienna 19th-century Austrian male musicians 19th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian male musicians Expatriates from Austria-Hungary in Germany Musicians from Austria-Hungary Chief conductors of the Munich Philharmonic Chief conductors of the Vienna Symphony