Horst Stein facts for kids
Horst Walter Stein (born 2 May 1928 in Elberfeld, Germany; died 27 July 2008 in Vandœuvres, Switzerland) was a famous German conductor. A conductor is someone who leads an orchestra or choir. He was known for his amazing musical talent and for helping young musicians.
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Horst Stein's Life and Career
Horst Stein grew up in Germany. His father was a mechanic. At school in Frankfurt, he studied piano, oboe, and singing. He continued his studies at the university in Cologne. There, he learned about composing music from Philipp Jarnach.
From 1947 to 1951, he worked at the Wuppertal Opera. He was a repetiteur, which means he helped singers learn their parts.
Early Conducting Roles
In 1955, a famous conductor named Erich Kleiber invited Stein to conduct. This was at the opening of the rebuilt Berlin State Opera. After that, Stein worked there as a Staatskapellmeister. This is a high-ranking conductor position.
From 1961 to 1963, he was a deputy chief conductor. This was at the Hamburg State Opera. Then, from 1963 to 1970, Stein became the chief conductor. He was also the director of opera at the Mannheim National Theatre.
Important Opera Houses
Stein worked at the Vienna State Opera from 1969 to 1971. He conducted about 500 performances there. Later, he returned to the Hamburg State Opera. He was the General Music Director from 1972 to 1977.
Bayreuth Festival Performances
In 1952, Stein started helping conductors at the Bayreuth Festival. This festival is famous for performing operas by Richard Wagner. He assisted great conductors like Herbert von Karajan.
Stein later conducted many performances himself at Bayreuth. He led a total of 138 shows between 1969 and 1986. This included a special performance in 1983. It was for the 100th anniversary of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Orchestras Around the World
Horst Stein also led many famous orchestras. He was the main conductor for the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. He also worked with l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva. Other orchestras included the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo.
He was especially known for performing music by Max Reger. He also recorded many works from the German Romantic period. These included symphonies by Bruckner and works by Sibelius.
Horst Stein spent a lot of time teaching. He helped train many young conductors.
Awards and Recognition
Horst Stein received several important awards for his work.
- Bruckner ring (from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, 1996)
- Honorary member of the National Theatre Mannheim
- Honorary member of the Friends of the Vienna State Opera
- Honorary member of the Richard Wagner Society Linz
- Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (1995)
- Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (2003)
See also
In Spanish: Horst Stein para niños
