Frederick Martin Reiner (Hungarian:Reiner Frigyes; December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963)^[1][2] was an American conductor ofopera andsymphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to prominence as a conductor with several orchestras.^[3] He reached the pinnacle of his career while music director of theChicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Reiner was born inBudapest,Austria-Hungary into a secular Jewish family that resided in thePest area of the city. After preliminary studies in law at his father's urging, Reiner instead decided to pursue the study of piano, piano pedagogy, and composition at theFranz Liszt Academy. Between 1903 and 1905 he studied the piano withIstván Thomán. From 1905 to 1908 he was a member of the composition class ofHans Koessler. From 1907 until 1909 he studied piano pedagogy with Kálmán Chován. During his last two years there, his piano teacher was the youngBéla Bartók.

After early engagements at opera houses in Budapest andDresden (June 1914 to November 1921), where he worked closely withRichard Strauss, he moved to the United States in 1922 to take the post of Principal Conductor of theCincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until 1931.^[4] During that period, in 1928, he and his wife became naturalized citizens.^[5] In 1931 he accepted the role of conductor of both thePhiladelphia Grand Opera and head of the orchestral department at theCurtis Institute in Philadelphia.^[6] Some of his pupils includedLeonard Bernstein,Lukas Foss,Max Goberman,Boris Goldovsky,Walter Hendl,Sylvan Levin,Henry Mazer,Howard Mitchell,Vincent Persichetti,Ezra Rachlin,Nino Rota,Felix Slatkin,Ethel Stark, andHugo Weisgall. Reiner dismissed composerSamuel Barber from his conducting class as he lacked that talent.^[7] Reiner resigned from Curtis in 1941.^[8]

He conducted thePittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1938-1948^[9][10] and made a few recordings with them forColumbia Records. He then spent several years at theMetropolitan Opera, where he conducted a historic production of Richard Strauss'sSalome in 1949, with the Bulgarian sopranoLjuba Welitsch in the title role,^[11] and the American premiere ofStravinsky'sThe Rake's Progress in 1951.^[12]

He also conducted and made a recording of the 1952 Metropolitan Opera production ofBizet'sCarmen, starringRisë Stevens.^[13] The production was telecast onclosed-circuit television that year.

In 1947, Reiner appeared on camera in the filmCarnegie Hall, in which he conducted theNew York Philharmonic as they accompanied violinistJascha Heifetz in an abbreviated version of the first movement ofTchaikovsky'sViolin Concerto.^[14] Ten years later, Heifetz and Reiner recorded the full Tchaikovsky concerto in stereo forRCA Victor inChicago.

Reiner's music-making had been largely American-focused since his arrival in Cincinnati. After the Second World War he began increasing his European activity.^{[citation needed]} He became music director of theChicago Symphony Orchestra in 1953.^[15]

He appeared with members of the Chicago Symphony in a series of telecasts on Chicago'sWGN-TV in 1953–54, and a later series of nationally syndicated programs calledMusic From Chicago. Some of these performances have been issued on DVD.^[16]

He made recordings in Chicago'sOrchestra Hall for RCA Victor from 1954 to 1963. The first of these — of Richard Strauss'sEin Heldenleben — occurred on March 6, 1954 and was among RCA's first to usestereophonic sound.^[17] His last concerts in Chicago took place in the spring of 1963.^[18]

One of his last recordings, released in a specialReader's Digest boxed set, was a performance ofBrahms'Symphony No. 4, recorded with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra in October 1962 in London'sKingsway Hall. This recording was later reissued on LP by Quintessence and on CD by Chesky.

On September 13 and 16, 1963, Reiner conducted a group of New York musicians inHaydn'sSymphony No. 101 in D major; this was followed by September 18 and 20, 1963, sessions devoted to Haydn'sSymphony No. 95 in C minor.^[19]

At the time of his death (in November 1963) he was preparing the Met's new production ofWagner'sGötterdämmerung.

Reiner was married three times (one of them to a daughter ofEtelka Gerster) and had three daughters. His health deteriorated after a heart attack in October 1960.^[1][20] On November 11, 1963, while preparing for performances ofGötterdämmerung at the Metropolitan Opera, Reiner became afflicted by bronchitis, which developed into pneumonia. He died in Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on November 15, 1963, at the age of 74.^[1][21]

Reiner and his compatriotJoseph Szigeti convincedSerge Koussevitzky to commission theConcerto for Orchestra from Bartók.^{[citation needed]}

Reiner's conducting technique was noted for its precision and economy, in the manner ofArthur Nikisch andArturo Toscanini.^[2]

Igor Stravinsky called the Chicago Symphony under Reiner "the most precise and flexible orchestra in the world"; it was more often than not achieved with tactics that bordered on the personally abusive, as Kenneth Morgan documents in 2005 biography of the conductor. Chicago musicians have spoken of Reiner's autocratic methods; trumpeterAdolph Herseth toldNational Public Radio that Reiner often tested him and other musicians.^[22]

• Hart, Philip (1994).Fritz Reiner: A Biography. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press.ISBN 0-8101-1125-X.
• Morgan, Kenneth (2005).Fritz Reiner: Maestro & Martinet. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press.ISBN 0-252-02935-6.

•   Media related toFritz Reiner at Wikimedia Commons
• Fritz Reiner atAllMusic
• Fritz Reiner, Conductor from Robert Meyer, Musical Reminiscences
• On Fritz Reiner's marriage
• A Biography of Fritz Reiner
• Finding aid to Fritz Reiner papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.