Frühbeck de Burgos (originally, Frühbeck), Rafael
Frühbeck de Burgos (originally, Frühbeck), Rafael
Frühbeck de Burgos (originally, Frühbeck), Rafael, eminent Spanish conductor; b. Burgos, Sept. 15, 1933. His father was German, his mother Spanish. He studied violin before pursuing musical training at the Bilbao Cons, and the Madrid Cons. (1950–53), and then received instruction in conducting from Eichhorn at the Munich Hochschule für Musik (1956–58). He was conductor of the Bilbao Municipal Orch. (1958–62), chief conductor of the Orquesta National de Espana in Madrid (1962–77), Generalmusikdirektor of the Diisseldorf Sym. Orch. (1966–71), and music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (1975–76). He appeared as a guest conductor with major European and North American orchs. He served as principal guest conductor of the National Sym. Orch. in Washington, D.C. (1980–89) and of the Yomiuri Nippon Sym. Orch. in Tokyo (1980–93). He was chief conductor of the Vienna Sym. Orch. (1991–96), Generalmusikdirektor of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin (1992–97), and chief conductor of the Radio Sym. Orch. in Berlin (from 1993). His idiomatic performances of Spanish music have won him many accolades; he has also demonstrated expertise as an interpreter of the standard orch. repertoire.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire