Leo Blech

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Leo Blech (1871-1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Schauspielhaus (later the Staatsoper Unter den Linden) from 1906 to 1937, and later as the conductor of Berlin's Städtische Oper from 1949 to 1958. Blech was known for his reliable, clear, and elegant performances, especially of works by Wagner, Verdi, and Bizet's Carmen (which he conducted over 600 times), and for his sensitivity as an accompanist.

[edit] Early life and education

Blech was born to a Jewish family in Aachen on April 21, 1871. After attending the Berliner Hochschule, he studied piano with Ernst Rudorff and took private lessons in composition from Woldemar Bargiel and Engelbert Humperdinck.

[edit] Career

After working briefly in sales, Blech earned a position as conductor at the Stadttheater in Aachen in 1893. From 1899 to 1906, he conducted at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague, before moving to the Königliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin. In 1913 he was promoted to General Music Director. Between 1923 and 1926, Blech took various positions at opera houses in Berlin and Vienna, including the Deutsches Opernhaus, the Berlin Volksoper, and the Vienna Volksoper. In 1926 he returned to the Schauspielhaus, now called the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where he remained until Adolf Hitler's anti-semitic policies forced him into exile in Riga in 1937. During and after the Second World War, Blech conducted at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. In 1949 he returned to Berlin to conduct at the Städtische Oper, where he worked until his death on August 24, 1958.