Cran's Favorite Conductor: Bruno Walter (1876-1962)
The conductor Bruno Walter (born Bruno Walter Schlesinger) was one of the most outstanding conductors of the 20th century. Walter's conducting career began in 1894 in Cologne and was followed by prestigious appointments to the Munich State Opera and Berlin State Opera. In 1933 Walter was forced from his position as the director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig as a result of Nazi influence. He left Germany emigrating to Austria where he served as director of the state opera from 1936-1938, before moving to France to flee the Nazis. In 1939 he crossed the Atlantic for the United States. During the next twenty years Walter conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic (where he served as musical adviser from 1947-49). He also conducted frequently at the Metropolitan Opera between 1941 and 1957. He made many recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra created expecially for him by Columbia Records.
When Walter returned to Europe as a guest conductor after the end of the Second World War, he met with great success. In the years following 1947, Walter returned several times to Europe to conduct in Edinburgh, Salzburg, Vienna, and Munich. As a conductor Walter is best remembered for his promotion of Mahler and interpretion of Mozart's works.
