Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (born May 5, 1900 Berlin; died May 28, 1973, Holm-Holstein, Germany) was a German conductor and composer. He studied music in Heidelberg and Münster. He was also a composition student with Franz Schreker at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, and received a doctorate in 1923. He was a repetiteur at the Wuppertal Opera starting in 1923. He held conducting positions at the opera houses of Rostock (1928 - 1931) and Darmstadt (1931 - 1933). He had the post of first conductor at the Hamburg State Opera from 1935 to 1943. In 1944, he was named music director at the Berlin State Opera.
In 1945, after the end of World War II, the British military authorities invited Schmidt-Isserstedt to found an orchestra at the North German Radio in Hamburg. In six months, he assembled the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra and conducted its first concert in November 1945. He was subsequently the orchestra's first principal conductor.[1] From 1955 to 1964, he was principal conductor also of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.
He made a well-regarded recording of all the Beethoven symphonies. In Germany, Schmidt-Isserstedt was a noted champion of the music of Michael Tippett. Schmidt-Isserstedt's own compositions included songs, an opera, and works for orchestra.[2] His son was the British record producer Erik Smith.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by none |
Principal Conductor, North German Radio Symphony Orchestra 1945–1971 |
Succeeded by Moshe Atzmon |
| Preceded by Carl Garaguly |
Principal Conductor, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra 1955–1964 |
Succeeded by Antal Doráti |
 |
This article on a conductor or bandleader is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
