Leinsdorf, Erich

Leinsdorf, Erich

(1912–93) conductor; born in Vienna, Austria. After musical studies in Vienna, he became an assistant to Bruno Walter and Toscanini at the Salzburg Festival (1934–37). He came to New York in 1938 to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera and was especially acclaimed for his Wagner. He conducted the Rochester Philharmonic from 1947–56, the New York City Opera and Metropolitan from 1955–62, and the Boston Symphony from 1962–69; the latter were his most notable years. He then guest-conducted widely.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.