REINER, FRITZ

born Dec. 19, 1888, Budapest, Austria-Hungary

died Nov. 15, 1963, New York, N.Y., U.S.

Hungarian-born U.S. conductor.

After piano studies with Béla Bartók , he conducted opera in Budapest (1911–14) and Dresden (1914–22). In 1922 he immigrated to the U.S., where he conducted orchestras in Cincinnati (1922–31) and Pittsburgh (1938–48). From 1953 to 1962 he led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which under Reiner first won international acclaim. He also taught conducting at the Curtis Institute ( Leonard Bernstein was among his students). A stern taskmaster, he inspired devotion on the part of many players.