Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy, professional name of Eugene Blau (1899-1985), American conductor, born in Budapest, Hungary. A child prodigy on the violin, he taught in Budapest until 1921, when he settled in the United States. During the 1920s and early 1930s he frequently conducted theater and radio orchestras. From 1931 until 1936 Ormandy conducted the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. He joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1936 and was its permanent conductor and music director from 1938 until 1980. Under his direction the orchestra became known for its rich sound, particularly that produced by its strings. In 1973, in Beijing, he conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in the first concerts by an American orchestra in the People's Republic of China.