Fritz Reiner

Fritz Reiner, born in Budapest into a secular Jewish family, was one of the most exacting orchestral conductors of the 20th century. Trained in Hungary, he emigrated to the United States in 1922 and reached the summit of his career as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s, where his recordings set a benchmark for precision and sonority. He also mentored future conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, as a teacher at Curtis.