Siegfried Landau (September 4, 1921February 20, 2007) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-born American

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and composer. He was born 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 ...

, the son of Ezekiel Landau, an Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, and Helen (Grynberg) Landau. He was a music student at the

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

and Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatories in Germany. His family emigrated to

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 ...

in 1939. In 1940, Landau came to

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 was a pupil of

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1 ...

. In 1943, he became a faculty member of the

New York College of Music The New York College of Music was an American conservatory of music located in Manhattan that flourished from 1878 to 1968. The college was incorporated under the laws of New York and was empowered to confer diplomas and degrees ranging from a ...

(after 1968 absorbed into

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development The New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (commonly referred to as NYU Steinhardt) is the education school of New York University. The school was founded as the School of Pedagogy in 1890. Prior to ...

). In 1948, he conducted the

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. ...

, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. Landau joined the

Brooklyn Philharmonic There have been several organisations referred to as the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The most recent one was the now-defunct Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in existence f ...

(then called the Brooklyn Philharmonia) in 1955, an orchestra comprised at that time of freelance musicians in the

area with a focus on contemporary or infrequently performed classical music. His tenure as the orchestra's music director was from 1955 to 1971, when he resigned after the orchestra had reduced its season and programming opportunities during a period of financial difficulty. From 1961 to 1981, he was the conductor of the Music for Westchester Symphony (later the White Plains Symphony), until he left the orchestra over disputes with the board of directors regarding programming. He led the Chattanooga Opera Association from 1960 to 1973. In Europe, he was ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the Westphalian Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 1975. Landau's compositions included music for a dance drama, ''The Dybbuk'', by Anna Sokolow. Landau was also a teacher at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the music director for Shearith Israel Synagogue,

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Landau married Irene Gabriel in 1954, and they had two sons, Robert and Peter. Landau often conducted the music for Gabriel's dance company in the 1950s and 1960s. Landau and Gabriel moved into their Brushton home in upstate New York in the 1980s. They died in a fire which destroyed the residence. Their sons survived them.

References

External links

Brooklyn Philharmonic: Kirshbaum Demler & Assoc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Siegfried 1921 births 2007 deaths New York College of Music faculty New York University faculty American male conductors (music) Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Musicians from Berlin Musicians from New York City People from Westchester County, New York Accidental deaths in New York (state) People from Moira, New York Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory alumni Deaths from fire in the United States Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians