William Steinberg

German-American conductor

Also known as: Hans Wilhelm Steinberg

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Original name:: Hans Wilhelm Steinberg

Born:: Aug. 1, 1899, Cologne, Ger.

Died:: May 16, 1978, New York, N.Y., U.S.

Also Known As:: Hans Wilhelm Steinberg

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William Steinberg (born Aug. 1, 1899, Cologne, Ger.—died May 16, 1978, New York, N.Y., U.S.) was a German-born American conductor who directed the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1952 to 1976.

Steinberg worked as an apprentice under Otto Klemperer at the Cologne Opera and in 1924 became principal conductor there. He conducted opera at Prague (1925–29) and Frankfurt-am-Main (1929–33) before he founded, with Bronislaw Huberman, the Palestine Symphony (later the Israel Philharmonic) in 1936.

In 1938 Steinberg went to the United States. He became assistant to Arturo Toscanini at the NBC Symphony. In addition to conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony, Steinberg concurrently served as music director of the London Philharmonic (1958–60) and later of the Boston Symphony (1969–72). He retired as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1976 after building it into one of the strongest musical institutions in the United States.

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