Hans Rosbaud

Who was Hans Rosbaud?

Hans Rosbaud, was an Austrian conductor, particularly associated with the music of the twentieth century.

Hans Rosbaud was born in Graz, Austria. As children, Hans and his brother Paul Rosbaud performed with their mother, who taught piano. Hans continued studying music at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main, under the tutelage of Bernhard Sekles in composition and Alfred Hoehn in piano.

Rosbaud's first professional post was in Mainz, starting in 1921, as the music director of the city's new School of Music, which included conducting the municipal symphony concerts. He became the first chief conductor of the Hessicher Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra of Frankfurt in 1928. During the 1920s and 1930s, he presented premieres of works by Arnold Schoenberg and Béla Bartók. During the Nazi era, his freedom to present new music was restricted. In 1937, he became the general music director of the city of Münster. In 1941, Rosbaud took the same position in Strasbourg, heading the Orchestre philharmonique.

In 1945 he was named music director of the Munich Philharmonic by United States occupation authorities.