Obituary
Erich Kunzel, PBS concerts maestro
Erich Kunzel, conductor of PBS popular July 4th and Memorial Day concerts from the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, died Sept. 1 [2009], in Bar Harbor, Maine, of complications from liver, colon and pancreatic cancers.
Kunzel, 74, was diagnosed with the disease in April and conducted his final concert from the Capitol on July 4.
The longtime Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra maestro took up the baton for the first National Memorial Day Concert broadcast in 1990 and has led the National Symphony Orchestra for those shows and Capitol Fourth concerts since. In December 2005 he conducted a PBS holiday show with crooner Mel Tormé. He led a “Spooktacular” concert taped for Halloween broadcast on PBS in 1996, and a Fourth of July from the Heartland PBS special in July 2000.
Jazz legend Dave Brubeck, a longtime friend of Kunzel, told the Cincinnati Enquirer he will miss the maestro at the Capitol performances.
“Fourth of July is Erich Kunzel in Washington D.C. with the National Symphony Orchestra,” Brubeck said. “It’s a tradition. It’s always a thrill to see Erich up there. He just had the enthusiasm to get things going.”
Jerry Colbert, executive producer of Capital Concerts Inc., said in a statement: “It was both an honor and a privilege to collaborate with Erich each year on these tributes to our country, originating from the U.S. Capitol. Erich Kunzel’s dedication to our nation was unsurpassed. His incredible artistry and energy will be greatly missed.”
Kunzel was born March 21, 1935, in New York City — 250 years to the day after J.S. Bach was born. He was reared in Connecticut by his German immigrant parents.
He graduated from Dartmouth in 1957, earned an M.A. at Brown University and did graduate work at Harvard. A month after his 1957 graduation, he made his professional conducting debut with Pergolesi’s opera La Serva Padrona in the first season of Santa Fe Opera. By October 1965 he was assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which remained his home podium for his career. He was named resident conductor in 1969 and was the first conductor of its Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 1975. His final performance with the Pops was Aug. 1.
Kunzel recorded more than 125 albums with sales of more than 10 million. He was Billboard magazine's Classical Crossover Artist of the Year between 1998 and 1991.
He received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 2006 from President Bush. He was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
A private funeral service will take place in Maine. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is planning a memorial concert at a later date.
Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Brunhilde. The couple had homes in Newport, Ky.; Swan's Island, Maine; and Naples, Fla.
Cincinnati's WGUC produced a two-hour special, The Spectacular Legacy of Erich Kunzel, that's available for listening and/or broadcast through Public Radio Exchange.
Web page posted Sept. 26, 2009
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