He served as Kapellmeister of the Erfurt and the Leipzig opera theaters in the early to mid 1950s. In 1955, he became conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic, where he served as chief conductor from 1967 until 1972. He was the general director of music at the Mecklenburg State Theater of Schwerin in 1958. He also served as senior director of music, alongside director Walter Felsenstein, at Berlin's Komishe Oper.
Kapellmeister of the Gewandhaus
In 1970, Masur became the director, or Kapellmeister, of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a post he held until he retired in 1996. The orchestra, now over 250 years old, prides itself on its history and tradition. Older Gewandhaus players train its musicians. Instruments, scores, even interpretations have been passed down through the years. Previous Gewandhaus Kapellmeisters have included Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwaengler, and Bruno Walter.
Masur has felt a particular connection with Felix Mendelssohn, who also conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra and founded the conservatory in Leipzig over 150 years ago. Mendelssohn's works were not performed in Germany during the Nazi regime because of his father's Jewish ancestry--even though he and his father had been Christians.
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