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Erich Kunzel

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Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel (left) receives the 2006 National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush (right) at a 2007 ceremony.
Erich Kunzel(left)receives the 2006National Medal of ArtsfromPresidentGeorge W. Bush(right)at a 2007 ceremony.
Background information
Born(1935-03-21)March 21, 1935
New York City,United States
DiedSeptember 1, 2009(2009-09-01)(aged 74)
Bar Harbor, Maine,United States
GenresClassical
OccupationConductor

Erich Kunzel Jr.(March 21, 1935 – September 1, 2009) was an Americanorchestraconductor.Called the "Prince of Pops" by theChicago Tribune,[1][2]he performed with a number of leadingpopsand symphony orchestras, and led theCincinnati Pops Orchestra(CPO) for 32 years.

Early life and career

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Kunzel was born toGerman-Americanimmigrant parents inNew York City.AtGreenwich High Schoolin Connecticut, he arranged music and played thepiano,string bassandtimpani.Initially achemistrymajor, Kunzel graduated fromDartmouth Collegewith a degree in music, where he was a member ofPhi Delta Theta,then studied atHarvardandBrownuniversities.[3]He conducted the Brown University Glee Club for at least two years. Early in his career, he conducted for theSanta Fe Operaand studied at thePierre Monteux School.[4]He met his Austrian-born wife, Brunhilde, while conductingGianni Schicchifor Santa Fe in 1964, and they married a year later.[5]From 1960 to 1965, he conducted theRhode Island Philharmonic.From 1965 to 1977, Kunzel served as resident conductor of theCincinnati Symphony Orchestra(CSO).[3]

In 1969, he was initiated as an honorary member of the Eta-Omicron chapter ofPhi Mu Alpha Sinfoniamusic fraternity at theCollege-Conservatory of Musicat theUniversity of Cincinnati.He was also a National Patron ofDelta Omicron,an international professional music fraternity.[6]

The Pops

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In 1965, Kunzel began the country's first winter pops series, the "8 O'Clock Pops". When the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra board of trustees created the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 1977, Kunzel was named conductor. The Pops became the larger of Cincinnati's two orchestras, as all ofMax Rudolf's symphony orchestra also played for the Pops year-round. At the invitation ofArthur Fiedlerin 1970, Kunzel guest-conducted over 100 concerts with theBoston Pops Orchestra.[3]He remained active with symphony, leading theIndianapolis Symphony Orchestra(as Principal Pops Conductor) from 1982 to 2002.

From the beginning, Kunzel strove to expand the Cincinnati Pops' reach worldwide, with nearly 90 recordings on theTelarclabel,[3]most of which became bestsellers. His popular recordings of classical music,Broadway musicals,and movie scores topped worldwidecrossovercharts more than any other conductor or orchestra in the world. Some of Kunzel's mentees at the Cincinnati Pops would later become notable in their own right, includingKeith Lockhartof the Boston Pops andSteven ReinekeofThe New York Pops.[4]

The Cincinnati Pops were especially popular in Asia. The group touredJapanseveral times, starting in 1990. In 1998, Kunzel became the first American pops conductor to perform inChina.Ten years later, he and the Cincinnati Pops were invited back to perform at the2008 Summer OlympicsinBeijing;they were the only American orchestra to play at the event.[7]

Kunzel made most of hisclassical musicrecordings as director of the Cincinnati Pops. However, he also madejazzrecordings withDave Brubeck,Duke Ellington,and other well-known artists. From theCapitol Buildinglawn, Kunzel conducted theNational Symphony OrchestraeveryMemorial DayandFourth of Julyfrom 1991 to 2009, in concerts televised nationwide onPBS.[4]In 1987, hisAaron Copland:Lincoln Portrait(CD-80117) album with narration byKatharine HepburnincludingOld American Songssung bySherrill Milnesreceived aGrammynomination. Other Grammy nominations came in 1989 (A Disney Spectacular), 1991 (Meredith Willson'sThe Music Man), and 1993 (Amen!--A Gospel Celebration). The albumAmerican Jubileewon theGrand Prix du Disquein 1989. His albums frequently feature digital sound effects created byMichael Bishop.

The conductor had a large influence on Cincinnati's local music scene. In addition to conducting almost weekly subscription concerts with the Cincinnati Pops, he expanded the Pops program in 1984 to include a summer concert series at the newly builtRiverbend Music Centeron the banks of theOhio River.He pushed for a new campus to house the city's publicSchool for Creative and Performing Arts.He invited many local performers, including children's choruses andCollege-Conservatorystudents, to share the stage with the Pops.[4]

The recording engineer for Kunzel's recording of music by Copland earned aGrammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classicalin 1998, forCopland:The Music of America,[7]Kunzel earned the 2006National Medal of Arts.In 2009, he was inducted into theAmerican Classical Music Hall of Fame,based in Cincinnati.[4]

On June 20–21, 2008, Kunzel conducted TheToronto Symphony Orchestra's performance ofStar Trek: The MusicatRoy Thomson HallinToronto.

Last days

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In April 2009, Kunzel was diagnosed withpancreatic,liverandcolon cancerand received chemotherapy treatments in Cincinnati.[8]He conducted a final concert at Riverbend on August 1, 2009, and died a month later inBar Harbor, Maine,near his home atSwan's Island.[4]That day, the CSO board of trustees posthumously named him "Founder and Conductor Emeritus" of the Pops.[4]

Discography

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Deccarecordings with the Cincinnati Symphony:

MCArecordings with the Cincinnati Symphony:

Turnaboutrecordings with the Cincinnati Pops:

  • American Fantasia (1978)
  • Pomp & Circumstance (1978)
  • A Portrait Of George:GershwinOn Broadway & In Hollywood (1979)
  • Jacques Offenbach- Overtures (1979)

Caedmonrecordings with the Cincinnati Pops:

Telarcrecordings with the Cincinnati Symphony:

MMG recordings:

VoxPrima recordings with the Cincinnati Pops:

  • Dances from the Opera (1983)

Vox Cum Laude recordings with the Cincinnati Pops:

  • Music OfWaldteufel(1983)
  • An International Salute (1984)
  • Jacques Offenbach: Concerto Rondo; Four Orchestral Pieces featuringOfra Harnoy,Philip Collins(1984)
  • Peaches And Cream -John Philip SousaDances And Marches (1984)
  • Jacques Offenbach – Vive La France! [2 disc compilation] (1994)

Fanfarerecordings with The Winnipeg Symphony:

Telarc recordings with the Cincinnati Pops:

Pro Arterecordings with theRochester Pops

  • Christmas At The Pops (Leroy Anderson; Georges Bizet;Victor Herbert;Leopold Mozart;Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Mark Leontovich [Mykola Leontovich]; Emil Waldteufel; Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Johann Strauss II; Felix Bernard) (1985)
  • Syncopated Clock (And Other Favorites By Leroy Anderson) (1986) (issued in Japan asThe Typewriter Song)
  • Ties & Tails. Music Of Duke Ellington And George Gershwin (1986)
  • A Night At The Pops (1987) (reissued onFirstChoicein 1991)
  • An Enchanted Evening...The Music Of Richard Rodgers (1987)

PAR recordings with theHouston Symphony

  • Gerry Mulligan: Symphonic Dreams (1987)

Telarc recordings withNaples Philharmonic Orchestra

See also

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  • Paavo Järvi,Kunzel's counterpart at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
  • John Morris Russell,Kunzel's successor at the Cincinnati Pops, named in December 2010.

References

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  1. ^Osborne, William (2004).Music in Ohio.Kent, Ohio:Kent State University Press.p. 225.ISBN0-87338-775-9.Retrieved2009-09-02.Kunzel, first associated with the Cincinnati Symphony in 1965, has been dubbed the Prince of Pops, a Midwestern Arthur Fiedler with a far-flung career still centered in Cincinnati.
  2. ^"2006 National Medal of Arts – Erich Kunzel"(Press release).National Endowment for the Arts.2007-11-16. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-05-30.Retrieved2009-09-02.
  3. ^abcd Wissmuller, Christian (January 21, 2008)."Conversations With...The Prince of Pops".School Band & Orchestra.Needham, Massachusetts:Symphony Publishing. Archived fromthe originalon September 7, 2009.RetrievedSeptember 2,2009.
  4. ^abcdefg Gelfand, Janelle (2009-09-01)."Erich Kunzel dies at 74".The Cincinnati Enquirer.Cincinnati, Ohio: Gannett Company.[Kunzel] died Tuesday [September 1] at about 10 a.m. in Bar Harbor, Maine, near his home on Swan's Island... Kunzel's final public appearance was with his own Cincinnati Pops Orchestra at Riverbend Music Center on Aug. 1, [in] the outdoor venue that he and the orchestra had christened in 1984.... He was a tireless champion for the new School for Creative & Performing Arts, nearing completion inOver-the-Rhine.It is by the sheer force of his magnetism and influence that the nation's first K-12 performing arts public school will welcome students in the fall of 2010.... One of his hallmarks was to include local talent on the concert stage – children's choruses, cloggers and musical theater students from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.... Kunzel has led PBS' nationally televised July Fourth and Memorial Day concerts, conducting the National Symphony Orchestra on the lawn at the U.S. Capitol.... In 2006, Kunzel was awarded the National Medal of Arts.... He was one of five artists chosen this year to be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, which has headquarters in Cincinnati.... He was conducting assistant to legendary French conductor Pierre Monteux.... Kunzel... became a mentor to a new generation, including the Boston Pops' Keith Lockhart and the New York Pops' Steven Reineke.
  5. ^ Doane, Kathleen (December 2005)."Maestro Minutia".Cincinnati Magazine.Retrieved2011-12-21.
  6. ^Delta OmicronArchivedJanuary 27, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  7. ^ab"Timeline: Erich Kunzel through the years".The Cincinnati Enquirer.Cincinnati, Ohio: Gannett Company. 2009-09-01.Retrieved2009-09-02.1998 – Kunzel is the first conductor to present a symphonic pops concert in China when he guest-conducts theChina National Symphonyin Beijing. The Pops and Telarc win a Grammy for 'Copland: Music of America.'... 2008 – The Beijing Organizing Committee invites Kunzel and the Pops to perform two concerts during opening weekend of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the only American orchestra invited.
  8. ^Gelfand, Janelle (2009-05-01)."Kunzel diagnosed with cancer".The Cincinnati Enquirer.Cincinnati, Ohio:Gannett Company.The 74-year-old Cincinnati Pops conductor was diagnosed on Wednesday [April 29] with pancreatic, liver and colon cancer and will be undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Cincinnati.

Sources

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  • "Erich Kunzel" in Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 17. Gale Research, 1996.
  • Thierstein."Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra".In L. Macy (ed.).Grove Music Online.Archived fromthe originalon May 16, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 4,2006.
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