Karl Böhm

Karl Böhm (August 28, 1894 – August 14, 1981) was a noted conductor.

Born in Graz, Austria he studied law and earned a doctorate on this subject. He later studied music at the Graz Conservatoire. On the recommendation of Karl Muck, Bruno Walter engaged him at the Munich State Opera in 1921. Darmstadt (1927) and Hamburg (1931) were the next places he resided as a young conductor, and later succeeded Fritz Busch as head of the Dresden Opera in 1934. He moved to the Vienna State Opera in 1943, becoming musical director at the rebuilt opera house there for a time after the second world war. He received many honors, among which 1964 first Austrian Generalmusikdirektor. Böhm died in Salzburg.

Although never a member of the Nazi party, he was a committed supporter. According to Frederic Spotts's Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics, Böhm infamously gave the Hitler salute before a concert following the Anschluss, ironically violating Nazi rules regarding appropriate places where the salute could be given. Böhm was a close colleague of Richard Strauss, whose Daphne is dedicated to him, and directed many of Strauss' works at their premiere. He was also noted for his interpretations of Richard Wagner and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's operas. He conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra frequently and was well-known for his interpretions of Brahms, Bruckner and Mozart with the orchestra. Late in his career he began a relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra, accepting the position of President of the orchestra (which he held until his death) - an invitation rarely extended by the LSO, the post being occupied subsequently by Leonard Bernstein and, from 2007, Sir Colin Davis.

His son, the actor Karlheinz Böhm is best known for his role as Mark, the psychopath in Peeping Tom, directed by Michael Powell.

Recordings

The Marriage of Figaro - 1968 - Deutsche Grammophon 449 728-2

External links

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