Schwieger, Hans

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Schwieger, Hans

Schwieger, Hans, German-born American conductor; b. Cologne, June 15, 1906. He studied in Cologne. He was asst. conductor at the Berlin State Opera (1927–30), at the Kassel Opera (1930–31), in Mainz (1932–33), and in Danzig (1936–37). In 1937 he went to Japan, where he conducted the Tokyo Sym. Orch. hi 1938 he settled in the U.S.; became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. He organized and conducted the Southern Sym. Orch. in Columbia, S.C. (1938–41), and then was conductor of the Fort Wayne Phil. (1944–48). From 1948 to 1971 he was conductor of the Kansas City (Mo.) Phil. He then filled engagements as a guest conductor in Europe.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire