Kurt Masur

Kurt Masur was one of the most respected conductors, not only for his music, but also for his activities on behalf of human rights. He learned cello and piano and studied at the Breslau Music School (1942-1944). After the war he found himself in the Soviet occupied zone of Germany, which became the German Democratic Republic (DDR) or "East Germany." His higher education was at the Leipzig Hochschule f++r Musik, where he studied piano, composition, and conducting (1946-1948). His first appointment was as a coach and assistant conductor in a small theater, the Halle Landesthea...