Austrian Conductor Karl Böhm Died in 1981, Aged 86

Böhm is remembered for his interpretations of works by Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss

Born in Graz, Austria, in 1894, Böhm majored in law before studying music at the Vienna Conservatory with Eusebius Mandyczewski and Guido Adler. Böhm also served in the Austrian army during World War I and returned to civilian life after sustaining an injury.

He made his conducting debut as a rehearsal assistant at the Graz Opera House in 1917; this was followed by his appointment as the orchestra's first conductor three years later. Böhm did not receive any formal conducting training and acknowledged Hans Richter’s (a friend of Böhm's father) belief that he would know immediately if he had the capability to succeed in this profession simply by standing in front of an orchestra.

He served in coveted conducting positions with the Bavarian State Opera, Darmstadt Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Vienna State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and the Royal Opera House.

Best known for his performances of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss, he conducted the premieres of Strauss's late works Die schweigsame Frau (1935) and Daphne (1938), of which he is also the dedicatee. He also regularly revived Strauss's operas with strong casts during his tenures in Vienna and Dresden, as well as at the Salzburg Festival. Among his achievements included a complete recording of the symphonies of Mozart.

At the time, Böhm was subject to public criticism for accepting the Dresden position, where he'd replaced Fritz Busch, who had been forced to resign by the Nazis. He also replaced Bruno Walter at Salzburg in 1938 under similar circumstances.

Although Böhm never officially joined the Nazi party, he continually expressed strong support in public and in private for Hitler and his regime. The extent to which his support was a matter of conviction or careerism is uncertain and has been the topic of speculation.

Böhm died in Salzburg in 1981, at the age of 86.

MOZART | REQUIEM K. 626 | KARL BÖHM & VIENNA PHILHARMONIC | 1971