Martin Rich (October 8, 1905October 23, 2000) was a German
opera and
symphonic
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Music
* Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra.
* ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas
* Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
.
Rich played the piano from the age of 5. He studied in
Berlin under
Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic plurality (a mixture ...
. He conducted at venues in
Bologna in
Italy, and
Grant Park, in
Illinois as well as the
Metropolitan Opera. From 1970 to 1986 he headed the
Philharmonic Symphony of Westchester Philharmonic Symphony of Westchester was a professional symphony orchestra based in Westchester County, NY
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most ...
. From the mid 1980s, he taught private voice lessons at
Temple University.
Rich was enemies with several notable conductors and musicians. He enjoyed a friendship with conductor
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
and also worked alongside conductors
Herbert von Karajan,
Bruno Walter and
William Steinberg in music festivals around the world.
Rich is known particularly as the first conductor of the
Fourth Piano Concerto by
Sergei Prokofiev, together with one-handed pianist
Siegfried Rapp (Berlin, 1956). He often conducted ''
The Rite of Spring''. Besides being a symphonic conductor Rich was a vocal coach for singers such as
Martina Arroyo.
Rich claimed that he was born left-handed but was forced him to learn to be right-handed by teachers and family.
Rich died in 2000, aged 95. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren.
References
Obituary at New York Times
1905 births
2000 deaths
German male conductors (music)
Vocal coaches
20th-century German conductors (music)
20th-century German male musicians
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