William Steinberg

Born as Wilhelm Hans Steinberg, the conductor earned recognition for his talent in forging orchestras and for his penetrating readings of music spanning the Romantic period into the early twentieth century.

Musical ability surfaced early. At thirteen he wrote and directed a cantata for chorus and orchestra drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Piano and violin skills developed with equal speed. Training followed at the Cologne Conservatory, where Franz Bölsche instructed him in theory, Lazzaro Uzielli in piano, and Hermann Abendroth in conducting. The Wüllner prize in conducting was awarded upon his graduation in 1920.

A post at Cologne Opera placed him as Otto Klemperer’s assistant. Klemperer’s exit in 1924 elevated Steinberg to Principal Conductor. In 1925 he moved to the German Theater in Prague. Four years later he assumed the musical directorship of the Frankfort Opera, where modern works received particular attention: Berg’s Wozzeck, Schoenberg’s Von heute auf Morgen, Antheil’s Transatlantic, and Weill’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny.

Nazi rule in 1933 ended mainstream opportunities. Appearances were confined to the Jewish Culture League in Frankfurt and Berlin, a body created to institutionalize separation while projecting an image of mere ethnic distinction. Steinberg departed Germany in 1936 for Palestine and led the new orchestra that later became the Israel Philharmonic. Arturo Toscanini conducted its opening concert. Their collaboration prompted Toscanini to engage Steinberg in 1938 as associate conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra.

Toscanini and Klemperer remained his chief mentors. He adopted their transparent, score-faithful manner and, like Klemperer, largely abandoned earlier interest in modern music. Guest engagements continued regularly with the NBC SO. In 1945 he became Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. The pivotal appointment arrived in 1952 as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which he returned to peak artistic form. Overlapping this tenure, he served as musical director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1958 to 1960.

A strong 1960 guest appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra made him the board’s first choice to succeed Charles Munch. RCA, however, insisted on Erich Leinsdorf. After Leinsdorf’s uneven term concluded, Steinberg took the post effective 1969. Health difficulties soon reduced his capacity and required repeated substitutes. He relinquished the position in 1972 and curtailed further activity.