Role

:

Composer Conductor Performer

Country

:

Germany

Birth

:

August 1, 1871 in Berlin, Germany

Death

:

July 5, 1941

Period

:

Romantic

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Orchestral

 

 

Symphony

 

Oskar Fried was a German conductor and composer who was born on August 1, 1871, in Berlin, Germany. He was the son of a Jewish merchant and grew up in a family that was not particularly musical. However, he showed an early interest in music and began taking piano lessons at the age of six. By the time he was a teenager, he had already composed several pieces of music. Fried studied music at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, where he was a student of the composer and conductor Arthur Nikisch. He also studied with the composer Max Bruch and the conductor Felix Weingartner. Fried's talent as a conductor was recognized early on, and he was appointed as the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1908. Fried's career as a conductor was marked by many highlights. He conducted the premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Munich in 1910, which was a major event in the history of classical music. He also conducted the premiere of Schoenberg's Gurrelieder in Vienna in 1913, which was another important event in the development of modern music. Fried was known for his interpretations of the music of Beethoven, Brahms, and Wagner. He was particularly admired for his performances of Wagner's music, and he conducted many of the composer's operas throughout his career. Fried was also a composer, and he wrote several works for orchestra, including a symphony and a tone poem. Fried's career was interrupted by World War I, during which he served in the German army. After the war, he continued to conduct and compose, but his career was affected by the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. Fried was Jewish, and he was forced to leave Germany in 1933. He moved to Vienna, where he continued to conduct and compose. Fried's career in Vienna was also marked by many highlights. He conducted the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and he was a regular guest conductor at the Salzburg Festival. He also conducted the premiere of Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck in Berlin in 1925. Fried's career came to an end in 1943, when he died in a bombing raid on Berlin. He was 72 years old. Despite his untimely death, Fried's legacy as a conductor and composer lives on. He was a pioneer in the development of modern music, and his interpretations of the music of Beethoven, Brahms, and Wagner continue to be admired by music lovers around the world.

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