Death of the German conductor Gerd Albrecht
Conductor Gerd Albrecht, who led the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra between 1975 and 1980 and most recently held conducting positions in Tokyo and Copenhagen, has died at the age of 78.
According to the Bärenreiter publishing house, Albrecht, who was born in Essen in 1935, was General Music Director at the Staatstheater Kassel from 1966 to 1972, before taking up further chief conductor posts in Berlin (Deutsche Oper), Zurich (Tonhalle Orchestra) and Hamburg (State Opera and Philharmonic State Orchestra).
From 1993 to 1996, he was the first foreign conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague. He was involved in music education for children and young people at the Hamburg Youth Music Foundation and the Musical Museums in Hamburg and Berlin.
Albrecht, who was regarded as a modern, analytical orchestra conductor, conducted the world premieres of important contemporary works, among others.
