Erich Kunzel

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Erich Kunzel, Jr. (b. March 21, 1935, New York City) is an American conductor.

A timpanist and music arranger at his high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, he received his first music degree from Dartmouth College. He also studied at Harvard and Brown University. From 1960 to 1965 he conducted the Rhode Island Philharmonic. From 1965 to 1977 he was associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

His popular recordings of classical music on the Telarc label have mostly been made as director of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra since 1977. During this time he was leader of the 8 o'clock popular concert series. He also made groundbreaking jazz recordings with Dave Brubeck and Duke Ellington. Kunzel also conducts the National Symphony Orchestra in televised concerts every Memorial Day and every Fourth of July.

When the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra board of trustees created The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 1977, Kunzel was named conductor.

Since then Erich Kunzel's efforts have made the "Pops" into an internationally known ensemble with half a dozen best-selling recordings a year and almost weekly subscription concerts. Once a major contender to succeed Arthur Fiedler at the Boston Pops, his popular recordings of classical music, Broadway musicals, movie scores, etc., have topped worldwide crossover charts more than any other conductor or orchestra in the world. The Cincinnati Pops are particularly popular in Asia, where they have toured several times over the years.

Kunzel and the CPO made history by becoming the first American pops orchestra to perform in China in October, 2005. In 2006, Kunzel was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

[edit] Links

• [1] website
• "Erich Kunzel," in Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 17. Gale Research, 1996.
• Thierstein: 'Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed Feb 4, 2006), http://www.grovemusic.com