Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis CH CBE was born on September 25, 1927, and passed away on April 14, 2013. He was an English conductor who became well known for working with the London Symphony Orchestra, which he first led in 1959. He performed a wide range of music, but he was especially connected to works by composers such as Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky, and Tippett.
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (pronounced /b oʊ l t /; April 8, 1889 – February 22, 1983), was a British conductor. He was raised in a wealthy family involved in business and studied music in England and Germany. He began his conducting career in London, working with the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev’s ballet company.
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 1879 – 8 March 1961) was an English conductor and organizer known for his work with the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He also worked closely with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras. From the early 1900s until his death, Beecham played a major role in shaping Britain’s musical culture.
Pierre Monteux
Pierre Benjamin Monteux (pronounced [pjɛʁ mɔ̃.tø]; April 4, 1875 – July 1, 1964) was a French conductor who later became an American citizen. After studying violin and viola, and spending ten years as an orchestra musician and occasional conductor, he began receiving regular conducting jobs in 1907. He became well known for conducting the world premieres of several important works, including Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Petrushka, The Nightingale, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, and Debussy’s Jeux, while working with Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes from 1911 to 1914.
Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky (born Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky; Russian: Сергей Александрович Кусевицкий; IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kʊsʲɪˈvʲitskʲɪj]; July 26, 1874 [Old Style July 14] – June 4, 1951) was a Russian and American conductor, composer, and double bass player. He is best known for his long time working as the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (UK: /stə-ˈkɒf-ski/, US: /stə-ˈkɔːf-ski/, /stə-ˈkɑːf-ski/, /stə-ˈkow-ski/; April 18, 1882 – September 13, 1977) was a British conductor. He was one of the most important conductors during the early and mid-20th century. He is best known for his long work with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy, born Jenő Blau, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist. He was born on November 18, 1899, and passed away on March 12, 1985. He is most famous for his work with the Philadelphia Orchestra as its music director.
George Szell
George Szell ( / ˈ s ɛ l / ; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally named György Széll, György Endre Széll, or Georg Szell, was a conductor, composer, and pianist born in Austro-Hungary who later became an American citizen. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century. Szell served as the music director of the Cleveland Orchestra in Cleveland, Ohio, and recorded many of the most important classical music pieces with that orchestra and others.
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin Reiner (also known as Reiner Frigyes in Hungarian) was an American conductor who worked with opera and symphonic music during the 1900s. He was born and trained in Hungary but moved to the United States in 1922. In the United States, he became well-known for conducting with several orchestras.
Otto Klemperer
Otto Nossan Klemperer (German: [ˌɔto ˈklɛmpəʁɐ]; 14 May 1885 – 6 July 1973) was a German conductor and composer. He lived and worked in Germany first, then in the United States, Hungary, and finally in Great Britain. He started his career as an opera conductor but became most famous for conducting symphonic music.