Efrem Kurtz (; November 7, 1900June 27, 1995) was a Russian conductor.

Life and career

Kurtz was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He studied at the Saint Petersburg conservatory with

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...

and Nikolai Tcherepnin, among others. He then pursued graduate studies at Riga University and the Stern Conservatory in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He later was a pupil of

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Kurtz made his conducting debut in Berlin in 1921 while a student at the Stern Conservatory when he substituted for an ill Nikisch to accompany the dancer Isadora Duncan on tour. This led to a number of concerts with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

. From 1924 to 1933 he conducted the Stuttgart Philharmonic, and in 1928, Kurtz was engaged by

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

to accompany her dancing, which he did until her death in 1931. From 1933 to 1941 he was conductor of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, touring with them extensively. His work in Monte Carlo included conducting the premiere of ''

Gaîté Parisienne ''Gaîté Parisienne'' () is a 1938 ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine (1896–1979) to music by Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) arranged and orchestrated many decades later by Manuel Rosenthal (1904–2003) in collaboration with Jacques B ...

''.Anderson, Martin, "A Century in Music: Manuel Rosenthal in Conversation" (April 2000). ''Tempo'' (New Ser.) (212): pp. 31-37. Kurtz later moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and became a citizen of that country in 1944. He was music director of the Kansas City Philharmonic from 1943 to 1948. He held the same post with the Houston Symphony from 1948 to 1954, when his contract was not renewed. Kurtz also conducted a number of

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s, including Jacques Ibert's score for

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

' ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. From 1955 to 1957, Kurtz was music director of the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...

jointly with John Pritchard. Thereafter he took a number of guest conducting posts, including engagements with orchestras in Leningrad and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, where he returned for the first time in 1966. Kurtz was married three times. He divorced his first wife, Katherine, to marry flutist Elaine Shaffer; Shaffer had been the first-chair flute of the Houston Symphony (under Kurtz) until she resigned in 1953 to pursue a successful solo career.Roussel, Hubert: ''The Houston Symphony Orchestra, 1913-1971'': pp. 125-140. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1974. The two remained married until her death, of lung cancer at the age of 47, in 1973. After her death, Kurtz married Mary Lynch, who survived him. He died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, aged 94.

Recordings

His recorded repertoire included works by among others

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

(early recordings, though not premieres, of several of the symphonies and the ''Age of Gold'' ballet suite), Ernest Bloch (one of whose last works, ''Two Last Poems (Maybe...)'' was dedicated to Elaine Shaffer), Heitor Villa-Lobos (his '' Uirapuru''). Many of these recordings were made in the 1940s and 1950s with the Philharmonia in London. He recorded primarily for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and EMI.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtz, Efrem 1900 births 1995 deaths American male conductors (music) Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Musicians from Saint Petersburg Russian male conductors (music) Ballet conductors Texas classical music Russian Jews 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Principal conductors of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Music directors of the Houston Symphony