Conductor Kurt Masur, who was credited with helping prevent violence after the collapse of communism in East Germany and later reinvigorated the New York Philharmonic during an 11-year stint as music director, has died at 88.
Philharmonic President Matthew VanBesien announced his death in a statement Saturday, saying, "It is with the deepest sadness that I write on behalf of the Masur family and the New York Philharmonic that Kurt Masur — our inspiring Music Director, 1991-2002, and Music Director Emeritus — passed away" earlier in the day.
Masur's 11-year tenure, one of the longest in Philharmonic history, "both set a standard and left a legacy that lives on today," VanBesien said.
"What we remember most vividly is Masur's profound belief in music as an expression of humanism. We felt this powerfully in the wake of 9/11, when he led the Philharmonic in a moving performance of Brahms's 'Ein Deutsches Requiem,' and musicians from the Orchestra gave free chamber concerts around Ground Zero," VanBesien said. "Today, New Yorkers still experience this humanist mark through the popular Annual Free Memorial Day Concert, which he introduced."
Born on July 18, 1927, in what was then the German town of Brieg — now Brzeg, Poland — Masur studied piano, composition and conducting at the Music College of Leipzig. He was appointed in 1955 as conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic in East Germany.
Source: latimes.com
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