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Fritz Reiner

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The native form of this personal name is Reiner Frigyes. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Fritz Reiner

Frederick Martin Reiner (Hungarian: Reiner Frigyes; December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963)[1][2] was an American conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to prominence as a conductor with several orchestras.[3] He reached the pinnacle of his career while music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Life and career

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Reiner was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary into a secular Jewish family that resided in the Pest area of the city. After preliminary studies in law at his father's urging, Reiner instead decided to pursue the study of piano, piano pedagogy, and composition at the Franz Liszt Academy. Between 1903 and 1905 he studied the piano with István Thomán. From 1905 to 1908 he was a member of the composition class of Hans Koessler. From 1907 until 1909 he studied piano pedagogy with Kálmán Chován. During his last two years there, his piano teacher was the young Béla Bartók.

After early engagements at opera houses in Budapest and Dresden (June 1914 to November 1921), where he worked closely with Richard Strauss, he moved to the United States in 1922 to take the post of Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until 1931.[4] During that period, in 1928, he and his wife became naturalized citizens.[5] In 1931 he accepted the role of conductor of both the Philadelphia Grand Opera and head of the orchestral department at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.[6] Some of his pupils included Leonard Bernstein, Lukas Foss, Max Goberman, Boris Goldovsky, Walter Hendl, Sylvan Levin, Henry Mazer, Howard Mitchell, Vincent Persichetti, Ezra Rachlin, Nino Rota, Felix Slatkin, Ethel Stark, and Hugo Weisgall. Reiner dismissed composer Samuel Barber from his conducting class as he lacked that talent.[7] Reiner resigned from Curtis in 1941.[8]

He conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1938-1948[9][10] and made a few recordings with them for Columbia Records. He then spent several years at the Metropolitan Opera, where he conducted a historic production of Richard Strauss's Salome in 1949, with the Bulgarian soprano Ljuba Welitsch in the title role,[11] and the American premiere of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress in 1951.[12]

He also conducted and made a recording of the 1952 Metropolitan Opera production of Bizet's Carmen, starring Risë Stevens.[13] The production was telecast on closed-circuit television that year.

In 1947, Reiner appeared on camera in the film Carnegie Hall, in which he conducted the New York Philharmonic as they accompanied violinist Jascha Heifetz in an abbreviated version of the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.[14] Ten years later, Heifetz and Reiner recorded the full Tchaikovsky concerto in stereo for RCA Victor in Chicago.

Reiner's music-making had been largely American-focused since his arrival in Cincinnati. After the Second World War he began increasing his European activity. He became music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1953.[15]

He appeared with members of the Chicago Symphony in a series of telecasts on Chicago's WGN-TV in 1953–54, and a later series of nationally syndicated programs called Music From Chicago. Some of these performances have been issued on DVD.[16]

He made recordings in Chicago's Orchestra Hall for RCA Victor from 1954 to 1963. The first of these — of Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben — occurred on March 6, 1954 and was among RCA's first to use stereophonic sound.[17] His last concerts in Chicago took place in the spring of 1963.[18]

One of his last recordings, released in a special Reader's Digest boxed set, was a performance of Brahms' Symphony No. 4, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in October 1962 in London's Kingsway Hall. This recording was later reissued on LP by Quintessence and on CD by Chesky.

On September 13 and 16, 1963, Reiner conducted a group of New York musicians in Haydn's Symphony No. 101 in D major; this was followed by September 18 and 20, 1963, sessions devoted to Haydn's Symphony No. 95 in C minor.[19]

At the time of his death (in November 1963) he was preparing the Met's new production of Wagner's Götterdämmerung.

Personal life

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Reiner was married three times (one of them to a daughter of Etelka Gerster) and had three daughters. His health deteriorated after a heart attack in October 1960.[1][20] On November 11, 1963, while preparing for performances of Götterdämmerung at the Metropolitan Opera, Reiner became afflicted by bronchitis, which developed into pneumonia. He died in Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on November 15, 1963, at the age of 74.[1][21]

Repertoire and style

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Reiner and his compatriot Joseph Szigeti convinced Serge Koussevitzky to commission the Concerto for Orchestra from Bartók.[citation needed]

Reiner's conducting technique was noted for its precision and economy, in the manner of Arthur Nikisch and Arturo Toscanini.[2]

Igor Stravinsky called the Chicago Symphony under Reiner "the most precise and flexible orchestra in the world"; it was more often than not achieved with tactics that bordered on the personally abusive, as Kenneth Morgan documents in 2005 biography of the conductor. Chicago musicians have spoken of Reiner's autocratic methods; trumpeter Adolph Herseth told National Public Radio that Reiner often tested him and other musicians.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Fritz Reiner, Conductor, Dead; Led U.S. Orchestras for 40 Years". The New York Times. New York. November 16, 1963. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  2. ^ a b Hart, Philip (2001). "Reiner, Fritz". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.23132. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  3. ^ "Fritz Reiner | Hungarian-American conductor | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  4. ^ "May 25, 1922, page 10 - The Cincinnati Enquirer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-16. Reiner to Conduct Symphony. Young Hungarian Musician Chosen to Pilot Destinies of the Cincinnati Orchestra.
  5. ^ "May 29, 1928, page 5 - The Cincinnati Enquirer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17. Reiners Naturalized.
  6. ^ "Feb 11, 1931, page 9 - The Cincinnati Enquirer at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-16. Philadelphia Takes Fritz Reiner. Cincinnati Leader Engaged to Direct Famous Orchestra and Grand Opera Company. . . . Fritz Reiner has accepted an engagement to conduct the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company for next season . . . . [He] has also accepted the appointment as head of the orchestral department of the Curtis Institute and will take over the duties of the position next fall.
  7. ^ Morgan, Kenneth (2005). Fritz Reiner, Maestro and Martinet. University of Illinois Press. p. 79. ISBN 9780252029356.
  8. ^ "Feb 21, 1941, page 2 - The Philadelphia Inquirer at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17. Dr. [Randall] Thompson Resigns as Curtis President; Fritz Reiner Also Quits.
  9. ^ "Mar 02, 1938, page 5 - The Philadelphia Inquirer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Pittsburgh, March 1 (AP). Retrieved 2025-01-16. Fritz Reiner to Lead Pittsburgh Symphony{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  10. ^ "Feb 25, 1948, page 34 - The Philadelphia Inquirer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Pittsburgh, Feb 24 (AP). Retrieved 2025-01-16. Dr. Fritz Reiner, for 10 years musical director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, resigned today 'because of other plans.'{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ^ Watt, Douglas. "Feb 05, 1949, page 255 - Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17. The exceptional aspects of the performance were due almost entirely to the presence of two newcomers to the opera house. One was Fritz Reiner, who conducted brilliantly; the other was Ljuba Welitsch, a Bulgarian soprano with a thrilling voice and an overwhelming desire to please the customers.
  12. ^ "Sep 16, 1952, page 443 - Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17. Reiner's big job at the Met this coming season is the musical preparation and conducting of Stravinsky's new opera, 'The Rake's Progress.'
  13. ^ Chapman, John. "Feb 10, 1952, page 426 - Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17. [Stevens] has sung 'Carmen' many times before, but not ever as well as she is doing it now. Fritz Reiner has found and brought forth, as conductor, every note of Bizet's enormously vivid score. . . .[it] is the greatest thrill of the theatrical season . . .
  14. ^ Carnegie Hall (1947) - IMDb. Retrieved 2025-01-17 – via www.imdb.com.
  15. ^ Cassidy, Claudia. "Oct 16, 1953, page 19 - Chicago Tribune at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17. Fritz Reiner Takes Over and Chicago Gets its Orchestra Back
  16. ^ Video Artists International 4237
  17. ^ See album notes to RCA Red Seal BMG Classics SACD
  18. ^ Cassidy, Claudia. "Nov 24, 1963, page 87 - Chicago Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17. Farewell to Reiner
  19. ^ Philip Hart, Fritz Reiner: A Biography, Northwestern UP, Jan 1, 1997, p. 280.
  20. ^ "Oct 10, 1960, page 9 - Wisconsin State Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Chicago (UPI). Retrieved 2025-01-17. Fritz Reiner Resting in Chicago Hospital.
  21. ^ Morgan, Kenneth (2005). Fritz Reiner, Maestro and Martinet. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-252-07730-2. JSTOR 10.5406/j.ctt1xchjh. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  22. ^ "Last Performance". National Public Radio. July 20, 2001. Retrieved 2009-06-07.

Sources

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