Ernest Martin Fleischmann (December 7, 1924 – June 13, 2010) was a German-born American impresario who served for 30 years as executive director of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

, which he upgraded to become a top-ranked orchestra. A talented musician, he chose a career on the business aspect of music, rather than a life as a conductor. Fleischmann was born in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

on December 7, 1924, to Gustav and Toni (née Koch). His Jewish family fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. There he learned music as a teenager and made his debut as a professional conductor in 1942, when he was only 17 years old. He earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

and received a degree in music from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

. He organized music for the Johannesburg Festival starting in 1956, for which he commissioned William Walton to create the Johannesburg Festival Overture in honor of the city's 70th anniversary. He married Elsa Leviseur in 1953, who practiced as an Architect in South Africa, US and England. In 1959, he took a position as general manager of the London Symphony Orchestra, spurning an offer from the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra.Weber, Bruce
"E. Fleischmann, Impresario of Los Angeles, Dies at 85"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 15, 2010. Accessed June 20, 2010. In London, he arranged for the orchestra to perform an annual season at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and commissioned works by Richard Rodney Bennett and Sir Arthur Bliss, in addition to exchange concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He left the LSO in 1967 and worked for a short time as the European director of CBS Masterworks Records. When he became executive director of the

in 1969,

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

was conductor at the distinguished

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center, which is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt ...

, but the musicians in the orchestra were not paid what they were worth. During his tenure in Los Angeles, Fleischmann more than doubled the pay for musicians and added a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to improving the orchestra's financial condition, a $50 million donation from Lillian Disney that went towards the construction of the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall meant the philharmonic played in a hall with acoustics far superior to their former venue. He brought in Carlo Maria Giulini as conductor from 1978 to 1985, who was replaced by André Previn. Previn, who had an ongoing feud with Fleischmann, left abruptly at the end of the 1989 season and would later call Fleischmann "an untrustworthy, scheming bastard".Staff
"Obituary: Ernest Fleischmann"
'' The Telegraph'', June 16, 2010. Accessed June 20, 2010. Fleischmann brought in Finn

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish conducting, conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Sw ...

in 1992, who ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' credited with transforming the orchestra into a "lean, disciplined machine".Mermelstein, David
"Longtime Director of Los Angeles Philharmonic Dies"
''

'', June 16, 2010. Accessed June 20, 2010.

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n Gustavo Dudamel was hired in 2009 to succeed Salonen. Fleischmann had identified Dudamel as a prodigy when he won the inaugural

Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition The Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition is one of the most important music competitions of its kind worldwide and is held in Bamberg, Germany. Conductors no older than 35 years may enter. History The competition was founded by the Bamberg Sym ...

in 2004, where Fleischmann and Salonen had been among the judges.Luther, Claudia
"Ernest Fleischmann dies at 85; manager who guided Los Angeles Philharmonic's transformation"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', June 15, 2010. Accessed June 20, 2010. Reviewer Mark Swed of the ''

'' credited Fleischmann with having "transformed a provincial second-rank orchestra into one of the world's best". Named as general administrator and artistic director of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

in November 1985, Fleischmann turned down the post just days later.Staff
"FLEISCHMANN BACKS OUT OF PARIS OPERA POST"
''

'', December 7, 1985. Accessed June 20, 2010. Described by ''

'' as "a taskmaster and an office tyrant", Fleischmann was once described by an employee as "egocentric, completely unprincipled and yet incredibly brilliant monomaniac in music". Fleischmann also had a long-standing feud with ''

'' music critic Martin Bernheimer, whose backbiting criticism had a negative effect on morale in the orchestra. Bernheimer, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1982, called Fleischmann "ruthless, a manipulator, and very smart and very progressive". Fleischmann died at age 85 on June 13, 2010, in Los Angeles. He was survived by two daughters and a son.

References

External links

This interview with Ernest Fleischmann
o
ThoughtCast
which wa
perhaps his last
was also broadcast on WGBH (FM). He will be missed! {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischmann, Ernest 1924 births 2010 deaths German emigrants to the United States German impresarios Musicians from Frankfurt University of Cape Town alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) South African College of Music alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to South Africa American impresarios London Symphony Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic