(b Budapest, 19 Dec 1888; d New York, 15 Nov 1963). American conductor of Hungarian birth. Even before he had completed his musical training at the Liszt Academy, Budapest (where he studied the piano with Bartók), Reiner worked as répétiteur at the Vigopera, where he made his conducting début in Carmen at the age of 19. He conducted opera in Laibach (now Ljubljana) and at the Népopera in Budapest (1910–14) until his engagement as one of two principal Kapellmeister at the Hofoper (later Staatsoper) in Dresden (1914–21). There he formed a lifelong friendship with Richard Strauss, who was, together with Nikisch, an important artistic influence. While at Dresden he conducted the first German production of Die Frau ohne Schatten in 1919. With the Cincinnati SO (1922–31), the Pittsburgh SO (1938–48) and the Chicago SO (1953–63), Reiner developed a formidable reputation as an orchestra builder. Under him the Chicago SO became, in Stravinsky’s opinion, ‘the most precise and flexible orchestra in the world’. He appeared frequently as a guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic SO and the Philadelphia Orchestra; his guest appearances in Europe included Budapest, Stockholm, Vienna and several orchestras in Italy. He was also guest conductor of opera in Halle (1921), Rome (1921), Barcelona (1922), Buenos Aires and Budapest (1926), Philadelphia (1931–2), Covent Garden (1936–7), San Francisco (1936–8) and Vienna (1955). He was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera from 1948 to 1953, and conducted the first American production of The Rake’s Progress there in 1953; he was preparing his return to the Metropolitan with Götterdämmerung when he died. He taught conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (1931–41) where his pupils included Bernstein and Lukas Foss.
In an obituary in the New York Times Harold C. Schonberg wrote: ‘As a musical intellect, as an incomparable technician, as a possessor of an ear virtually unparalleled in his field, Reiner held a unique spot in 20th-century musical life and thought’. Like Nikisch, Reiner conducted with great economy and precision, balancing expressivity with fidelity to the score; both were renowned for ‘conducting with their eyes’. He embraced a wide orchestral and operatic repertory, ranging from Bach, Haydn and Mozart to Bartók, Stravinsky and Webern; although grounded in the Austro-German tradition he was especially effective in the French and Russian repertory, and was noted for his dedication to contemporary music, including that of his adopted homeland. But unlike Nikisch, Reiner was an ill-tempered and demanding taskmaster with his players, imposing strict discipline on their performance.
Reiner’s posthumous celebrity has been enhanced by the brilliant series of recordings he made in Chicago for RCA Victor (1954–63), which reproduce the sound of his great orchestra vividly and confirm his artistic intellect, exceptionally keen ear for detail and penetrating musicianship. Particularly memorable are his interpretations of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Spanish-influenced music by Debussy and Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade and Ravel’s orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition. With less impressive sound but covering a broader repertory are a variety of ‘underground’ recordings from radio broadcasts with the NBC SO (including Copland's Clarinet Concerto with Benny Goodman), Chicago SO, New York PO and Metropolitan Opera; his 1936 Covent Garden Tristan und Isolde with Flagstad (in her London début) and Melchior has also been issued on CD.
H. Stoddard: ‘Fritz Reiner’, Symphony Conductors of the U.S.A. (New York, 1957), 171
H.C. Schonberg: The Great Conductors (New York, 1967/R), 335ff
I. Stravinsky: ‘On Conductors and Conducting’, Themes and Conclusions (London, 1972), 223ff
F. Bónis: ‘Fritz Reiner: an Early Bartók Conductor’, New Hungarian Quarterly, no.63 (1976), 218
R.R. Potter: Fritz Reiner, Conductor, Teacher, Musical Innovator (diss., Northwestern U., 1980)
P. Hart: Fritz Reiner: a Biography (Evanston, IL, 1994, repr. with rev. discography, 1997)
P. Hart: Fritz Reiner: a Comprehensive Annotated Discography (in preparation)
PHILIP HART