Moralt, Rudolf

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Moralt, Rudolf

Moralt, Rudolf, esteemed German composer, nephew of Richard (Georg) Strauss; b. Munich, Feb. 26, 1902; d. Vienna, Dec. 16,1958. He studied in Munich at the Univ. and the Academy of Music, his principal teachers being Courvoisier and Schmid-Lindner. After serving as répétiteur at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (1919–23), he was conductor at the Kaiserslautern Stadtische Oper (1923–28; 1932–34) and music director of the German Theater in Brno (1932–34). He then conducted opera in Braunschweig (1934–36) and Graz (1937–40), and subsequently was a principal conductor at the Vienna State Opera (1940–58); also appeared as a guest conductor in Europe. In addition to his natural affinity for the music of his uncle, he also conducted fine performances of Mozart, Wagner, Johann Strauss, and Pfitzner.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire