Damrosch, Walter Johannes (1862-1950)
American muscian, son of Leopold Damrosch, was born in Breslau, Prussia. He began to study the piano under his father before coming to the United States in 1871. He continued his musical education in New York and, in 1885, succeeded his father as conductor of the Oratorio and Symphony societies. In 1894, he organized the Damrosch Opera Company, devoted chiefly to the production of Wagner opera, which appeared under his direction in many cities of the United States.
Through his efforts in 1903, the New York Symphony Society was reorganized as a permanently established orchestra, and he was its director until 1927. The next year he became music counsellor <sic> for the National Broadcasting System. In 1932 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His musical compositions include three operas, The Scarlet Letter, Cyrano de Bergerac, and The Man Without a Country; Manila Te Deum, a sonata for violin and piano; and a number of songs.
He re-formed the bands of the American expeditionary force in World War I. He wrote My Musical Life.
~ The Lincoln Library of Essential Information, Volume 2, Thirty-Fifth Edition, 1972, Biography, Page 1780.
You can visit the memorial page for Walter Johannes Damrosch.
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