Max Reiter
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Max Reiter (20 October 1905 Trieste, Austro-Hungarian Empire – 13 December 1950 San Antonio) was an Italian-born American conductor who founded the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra in 1939 and developed it to the rank of a major symphony orchestra. He led the San Antonio Symphony until his death in 1950.[1][2][3]
- 1925 — Assistant Conductor, Berlin State Opera
- Munich Philharmonic
- Milan Conservatory Orchestra
- 1938 — Augusteo Orchestra in Rome[4]
Growing up
Reiter was born in Trieste, Italy, on October 20, 1905 to Isaac Reiter, a Jewish German-born businessman father, and Cella, a native Italian mother. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Munich, where he continued his middle-school education and went on to attend a university. He studied conducting with Bruno Walter and, at the insistence of his father, earned a doctorate in law.[5][6][7][8]
Immigration to America
Reiter fled his home in Italy in 1939, during the rise in fascism and antisemitism. He arrived in New York in January 1939, where the Steinway family advised him to go to Texas, a place they felt held employment potential. The Steinways felt that Texas was least affected by the Great Depression, and, given strong piano sales, showed great enthusiasm for music. The Steinway family informed Reiter Texans had purchased more Steinway pianos per capita than in any other state.