Classical music

Carl Schuricht

Carl Schuricht (1880-1967) ranks among the great conductors of the twentieth century. Born in Danzig into a family of organ builders, trained notably under Max Reger and Engelbert Humperdinck, he led the musical life of Wiesbaden for many years. Under Nazism, he defended his Jewish musicians and kept Mendelssohn and Hindemith on his programmes; threatened, he left Germany in 1944 to take refuge in Switzerland. He married Martha Banz, from Lucerne, and settled on the Riviera, at Corseaux above Vevey. A sought-after guest conductor, faithful to Beethoven and Bruckner, he performed across Europe into old age and died at Corseaux in 1967.