Dean Dixon

Dean Dixon ( born January 10, 1915 in New York City; † November 4, 1976 in train / Switzerland ) was an American conductor. He is regarded as the first African American who conducted major American symphony orchestra, and one of the first Americans, who held a conductor's post at European orchestras.

Dixon studied conducting with Albert Stoessel the at the Juilliard School and received his graduate degree at Columbia University. In 1931 he founded at the age of 16 years, an orchestra and a choir. In 1941, he served as a guest conductor, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, then the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In the following years he was also a guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Because of his skin color had Dixon as a conductor but difficult in the United States and went to Europe in 1949, where he initially worked in Paris conducted the orchestra of Radio France. From 1950 to 1951 he headed the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, from 1953 to 1960, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, from 1964 to 1967 the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and from 1961 to 1974 the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt. In 1970, he returned in triumph to America. He was invited to conduct park in front of 75,000 listeners in the Central and allowed - made ​​an honorary citizen of New York - to answer the golden key from the hands of Mayor John Lindsay.

Dean Dixon led most of the major symphony orchestras in Europe, Israel, Japan and Latin America. He made the European audience with many American composers such as William Grant Still known. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers honored him for his efforts to win the American Youth for the music, with the Award of Merit. Dean Dixon was married to his first wife, Vivian Rivkin with the American pianist, with whom he also made some recordings of concert works.

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