author
Walter Damrosch
1862–1950
A major force in American musical life, this conductor and composer helped shape concert culture in New York for decades. He is especially remembered for championing new music and leading early performances of works by George Gershwin and Aaron Copland.
1 Audiobook
My Musical Life
by Walter Damrosch
About the author
Born in Breslau, Prussia, in 1862, Walter Damrosch moved to the United States as a boy when his family settled in New York. He studied music with his father, the conductor Leopold Damrosch, and after his father's death stepped into important leadership roles remarkably young.
Damrosch became a central figure in American classical music as director of the New York Symphony Orchestra, and he also worked with the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. Over a career that stretched across more than half a century, he gained a reputation as a persuasive advocate for orchestral music and for bringing ambitious repertoire to American audiences.
He is often remembered today for conducting notable premieres, including George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F and An American in Paris, as well as Aaron Copland's Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. Alongside his conducting, he also composed and worked as a music educator, helping introduce generations of listeners to classical music before his death in New York in 1950.