10 Facts About Artur Bodanzky

Artur Bodanzky was an Austrian-American conductor particularly associated with the operas of Wagner.

Artur Bodanzky conducted Enrico Caruso's last performance at the Metropolitan Opera House on Christmas Eve 1920.

The son of Jewish merchants, Bodanzky studied the violin and composition with Alexander Zemlinsky.

Artur Bodanzky then became conducting assistant to Gustav Mahler in Vienna, later going on to jobs in Berlin, the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague, where he was briefly a colleague of Otto Klemperer and Mannheim.

Artur Bodanzky was head of German repertory at the Met, being accepted by Arturo Toscanini on the recommendation of Ferruccio Busoni.

In 1928, Artur Bodanzky announced his resignation from the Met and was replaced by Joseph Rosenstock.

However, Rosenstock received such criticism in the press that he himself resigned almost immediately on medical advice, and Artur Bodanzky was rehired, and remained at the Met until his death in 1939.

However, later in his career at the Met Artur Bodanzky became "notorious for his rapid tempi, particularly in Wagner".

Artur Bodanzky reputedly introduced more cuts in operas he prepared than many other contemporary conductors, and it was sometimes suggested that he was eager to finish the opera in time to play cards.

Artur Bodanzky compares favorably with both Furtwangler and Reiner in this respect.