William Steinberg
William Steinberg (born Wilhelm Hans Steinberg) was a conductor and an exceptional orchestra builder and interpreter of the Romantic to early-twentieth century repertory.
He developed precociously as a musician. At the age of 13 he composed and conducted a cantata for chorus and orchestra based on selections of Ovid's Metamorphoses. He was also a fast-developing pianist and violinist. He studied at Cologne Conservatory with Franz Bölsche in music theory, Lazzaro Uzielli in piano, and Hermann Abendroth in conducting. He won the Wüllner prize in conducting in his graduation year of 1920.
He obtained a position conducting at Cologne Opera, where he was assistant to Otto Klemperer. When Klemperer left in 1924, Steinberg received the appointment as Principal Conductor. In 1925 he accepted the post of conductor of the German Theater in Prague. In 1929 he became musical director of the Frankfurt Opera. His tenure there was marked by an interest in modern opera. His productions included Berg's Wozzeck, Schoenberg's Von heute auf Morgen, Antheil's Transatlantic, and Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny.
The advent of Nazi rule in 1933 effectively ended his German career. He was restricted to conducting concerts for the Jewish Culture League in Frankfurt and Berlin. This was an insidious creation of the Nazis that both furthered its institutionalized anti-Semitism by creating a segregated organization for a segregated orchestra, while preserving the illusion that the Nazis goals went no further than ethnic separation. Steinberg left Germany in 1936 for Palestine, where he conducted the new orchestra there that eventually became the Israel Philharmonic. The Palestine Philharmonic's first concert was conducted by Arturo Toscanini. After working with Steinberg, Toscanini invited him to go to the United States as associate conductor of his NBC Symphony Orchestra. Steinberg took up that position in 1938.
Toscanini and Klemperer were Steinberg's two mentors. He adopted their clear, faithful approach to the classic scores and, like Klemperer, lost much of his early interest in modern music. Steinberg guest conducted regularly during his tenure with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1945 he became Music Director of the Buffalo (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1952 he obtained the major appointment of his career, as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He restored that orchestra to an artistic high point. Concurrently, he was musical director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1958 - 1960).
In 1960 he scored a great success guest conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was the preferred choice of its board for their next music director, as Charles Münch was stepping down from the position. However, RCA, the orchestra's record company, successfully pressured them to appoint Erich Leinsdorf, already on their roster of conductors. After Leinsdorf's tenure, one of mixed success, ended, they did appoint Steinberg to the post effective 1969. This was also only a partial success, because then health problems interfered with his abilities and caused frequent substitutions. He left the position in 1972 and restricted his activities.
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Holst: The Planets
William Steinberg, Norman Del Mar, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milstein plays Violin Concertos
Nathan Milstein, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Violinkonzerte - Erschienen bei Urania Records am 27.05.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
F. Loewe: My Fair Lady / Rodgers: The Sound Of Music
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Curtain Calls!
William Steinberg, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 & Tragic Ouverture
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1965
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Enigma (Remastered 2023)
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Urania Records am 26.04.2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss, R.: Also sprach Zarathustra; Till Eulenspiegel; Don Juan
Boston Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"
William Steinberg, Kölner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ica Classics am 01.02.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Prelude to Act I), Parsifal, Götterdämmerung & Tristan und Isolde (Prelude & Liebestod)
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Soundmark Records am 24.02.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Introduction et rondo capriccioso (Mono Version)
Jascha Heifetz, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Kapell) (1950-1951)
William Kapell, Philadelphia Robin Hood Dell Orchestra, William Steinberg, Fritz Reiner
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 15.04.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1 - 4 & Tragic Ouverture
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven & Tchaikovsky : Violin Concertos (1928, 1934)
Bronisław Huberman, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, George Szell, William Steinberg
Violinkonzerte - Erschienen bei Naxos am 22.02.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Steinberg conducts Beethoven
William Steinberg, Ludwig van Beethoven
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 09.01.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nathan Milstein Plays Tchaikovsky & Rimsky-Korsakov (Remastered 2022)
Nathan Milstein, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Robert Irving, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Artemisia am 10.02.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ernst Toch: Symphony No. 3 - Paul Hindemith: Symphony: Mathis der Maler - Ernest Bloch: Concerto Grosso No. 1
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Soundmark Records am 24.02.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Op. 61 - Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Op. 77
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, Nathan Milstein
Klassik - Erschienen bei Soundmark Records am 12.02.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Edward Elgar: Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, 'Enigma' - Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis & Five Tudor Portraits
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Soundmark Records am 20.02.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Minor, Op. 15 - Antonin Dvorak: Violin Concerto in A-Minor, Op. 53
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Soundmark Records am 19.02.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, Op. 64 - Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 26 (Mono Version)
Nathan Milstein, William Steinberg, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Op. 61 (Mono Version)
Nathan Milstein, William Steinberg, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo