Fritz Reiner

Biography

Frederick Martin (Fritz) Reiner (December 19, 1888 - November 15, 1963) was one of the great international conductors of opera and symphonic music in the first half of the 20th century. He was born to a secular Jewish family in the Pest section of Budapest, Hungary. After preliminary studies in law (at his father’s urging), Reiner pursued the study of piano, piano pedagogy, and composition at the Franz Liszt Academy. During his last two years there his piano teacher was the young Bela Bartok.