Schnéevoigt, Georg (Lennart)

Schnéevoigt, Georg (Lennart), prominent Finnish conductor; b. Vyborg, Nov. 8, 1872; d. Malmö, Nov. 28, 1947. He received training in cello in Helsinki, with Karl Schröder in Sondershausen, and with Julius Klengel in Leipzig. He then continued his musical studies in Brussels, Dresden, and with Robert Fuchs in Vienna. Returning to Helsinki, he served as principal cellist in the Phil. (1895–98; 1899–1903) and as a cello teacher at the Music Inst. In 1901 he launched his conducting career in Riga. From 1904 to 1908 he was conductor of the Kaim Orch. in Munich. After conducting the Kiev Sym. Orch. (1908–09), he was conductor of the Riga Sym. Orch. (1912–14). He also conducted the Helsinki Sym. Orch. (1912–14); in 1914 it merged with Kajanus’ Helsinki Phil, to form the Helsinki City Orch. with Schnéevoigt as co-conductor (1916–32). From 1932 to 1941 Schnéevoigt was its sole conductor. He also was conductor of the Stockholm Konsertförening (1915–21), founder-conductor of the Christiania (later Oslo) Phil. (1919–27), conductor in Düsseldorf (1924–26), of the Los Angeles Phil. (1927–29), and of the Riga Opera (1929–32). Subsequently he conducted in Malmö. In 1907 he married the pianist and teacher Sigrid Ingeborg Sundgren (b. Helsinki, June 17, 1878; d. Stockholm, Sept. 14, 1953). She studied at the Helsinki Music Inst. (1886–94) and with Busoni in Berlin (1894–97). From 1901 she taught at the Helsinki Music Inst. She also appeared as a soloist with orchs., often under the direction of her husband, and as a recitalist.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire