Mitropoulos, Dimitri

Mitropoulos, Dimitri

(1896–1960) conductor; born in Athens, Greece. Trained first in Athens, he held conducting posts in Berlin and Paris before making his American debut with the Boston Symphony in 1936. From 1937 to 1949 he conducted the Minneapolis Symphony, then became coconductor of the New York Philharmonic, its principal conductor from 1951 to 1957. He frequently conducted opera and died during a rehearsal at La Scala in Milan. He was noted for his remarkable technical abilities and for his advocacy of progressive composers. He was also a notable pianist and composer.

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

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Mitropoulos, Dimitri

 

Born Mar. 1, 1896, in Athens; died Nov. 2, 1960, in Milan. Greek conductor, pianist, and composer.

Mitropoulos studied at the Athens Conservatory, where he subsequently became a professor of composition in 1930. In 1937 he emigrated to the USA. He became a conductor of the New York Philharmonic in 1949 and was its principal conductor from 1950 to 1958. He was the principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera from 1954 to 1958.

Mitropoulos appeared at festivals in Florence and Salzburg. He performed in many cities, including Milan (La Scala) and Vienna (State Opera). In 1934 he toured the USSR. His opera repertoire included works by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Ravel, and Milhaud. He also conducted Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. Mitropoulos composed the opera Soeur Béatrice (1920), music for the stage, symphonic works, and other types of music.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.