Walter, Bruno (full name, Bruno Walter Schlesinger)

Walter, Bruno (full name, Bruno Walter Schlesinger) , eminent German-born American conductor; b. Berlin, Sept. 15,1876; d. Beverly Hills, Feb. 17, 1962. He entered the Stern Cons, in Berlin at age 8, where he studied with H. Ehrlich, L. Bussler, and R. Radecke. At age 9, he performed in public as a pianist but at 13 decided to pursue his interest in conducting. In 1893 he became a coach at the Cologne Opera, where he made his conducting debut with Lortzing’s Waffenschmied. In the following year he was engaged as asst. conductor at the Hamburg Stadttheater, under Gustav Mahler; this contact was decisive in his career, and in subsequent years he became an ardent champion of Mahler’s music. Walter conducted the premieres of the posthumous Sym. No. 9 and Das Lied von der Erde. During the 1896-97 season, Walter was engaged as second conductor at the Stadttheater in Breslau; then became principal conductor in Pressburg, and in 1898 at Riga, where he conducted for 2 seasons. In 1900 he received the important engagement of conductor at the Berlin Royal Opera under a 5-year contract; however, he left this post in 1901 when he received an offer from Mahler to become his assistant at the Vienna Court Opera. He established himself as an efficient opera conductor, and also conducted in England (first appearance, March 3, 1909, with the Royal Phil. Soc. in London). He remained at the Vienna Court Opera after the death of Mahler. On Jan. 1, 1913, he became Royal Bavarian Generalmusikdirektor in Munich; under his guidance, the Munich Opera enjoyed brilliant performances, particularly of Mozart’s works. Seeking greater freedom for his artistic activities, he left Munich in 1922, and gave numerous performances as a guest conductor with European orchs. He conducted the series “Bruno Walter Concerts” with the Berlin Phil. from 1921 to 1933. Beginning in 1925, he also conducted summer concerts of the Salzburg Festival; his performances of Mozart’s music there set a standard. He also appeared as pianist in Mozart’s chamber works. On Feb. 15, 1923, he made his American debut with the N.Y. Sym. Soc, and appeared with it again in 1924 and 1925. From 1925 to 1929 he was conductor of the Städtische Oper in Berlin-Charlottenburg; in 1929 he succeeded Furtwängler as conductor of the Gewandhaus Orch. in Leipzig, but continued to give special concerts in Berlin. On Jan. 14, 1932, he was guest conductor of the N.Y. Phil. acting also as soloist in a Mozart piano concerto; he was reengaged during the next 3 seasons as assoc. conductor with Toscanini. He was also a guest conductor in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. With the advent of the Nazi regime in Germany in 1933, his engagement with the Gewandhaus Orch. was canceled, and he was also prevented from continuing his orch. concerts in Berlin. He filled several engagements with the Concertgebouw Orch. in Amsterdam and also conducted in Salzburg. In 1936 he was engaged as music director of the Vienna State Opera; this was terminated with the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. With his family, Walter, then went to France, where he was granted French citizenship. After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he sailed for America, establishing his residence in Calif., and eventually became a naturalized American citizen. He was guest conductor with the NBC Sym. Orch. in N.Y. (1939); he also conducted many performances of the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. (debut in Fidelio on Feb. 14, 1941). From 1947 to 1949 he was conductor and musical adviser of the N.Y. Phil.; he returned regularly as guest conductor until 1960. He also conducted in Europe (1949-60), giving his farewell performance in Vienna with the Vienna Phil. in 1960.

Walter achieved the reputation of a perfect classicist among 20^th-century conductors; his interpretations of the masterpieces of the Vienna School were particularly notable. He is acknowledged to have been a foremost conductor of Mahler’s syms. His own compositions include 2 syms.; Siegesfahrt for Solo Voices, Chorus, and Orch.; String Quartet; Piano Quintet; Piano Trio; several albums of songs. He publ. the books Von den moralischen Kräften der Musik (Vienna, 1935); Gustav Mahler (Vienna, 1936; 2^nd ed., 1957; Eng. tr., 1927; 2^nd ed., 1941); Theme and Variations: An Autobiography (N.Y, 1946; Ger. original, 1947); Von der Musik und vom Musizieren (Frankfurt am Main, 1957; Eng. tr., 1961); L. Walter-Lindt, ed., Briefe 1894-1962 (Frankfurt am Main, 1970).

Bibliography

M. Komorn-Rebhan, Was wir von B. W. lernten (Vienna, 1913); P. Stefan, B. W.(Vienna, 1936); B. Gavoty, B. W. (Geneva, 1956).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire