Erich Kunzel Jr. (March 21, 1935 – September 1, 2009) was an American orchestraconductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune,[1][2] he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, and led the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (CPO) for 32 years.
In 1965, Kunzel began the country's first winter pops series, the "8 O'Clock Pops". When the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra board of trustees created the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 1977, Kunzel was named conductor. The Pops became the larger of Cincinnati's two orchestras, as all of Max Rudolf's symphony orchestra also played for the Pops year-round. At the invitation of Arthur Fiedler in 1970, Kunzel guest-conducted over 100 concerts with the Boston Pops Orchestra.[3] He remained active with symphony, leading the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (as Principal Pops Conductor) from 1982 to 2002.
From the beginning, Kunzel strove to expand the Cincinnati Pops' reach worldwide, with nearly 90 recordings on the Telarc label,[3] most of which became bestsellers. His popular recordings of classical music, Broadway musicals, and movie scores topped worldwide crossover charts more than any other conductor or orchestra in the world. Some of Kunzel's mentees at the Cincinnati Pops would later become notable in their own right, including Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops and Steven Reineke of The New York Pops.[4]
The Cincinnati Pops were especially popular in Asia. The group toured Japan several times, starting in 1990. In 1998, Kunzel became the first American pops conductor to perform in China. Ten years later, he and the Cincinnati Pops were invited back to perform at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; they were the only American orchestra to play at the event.[7]
The conductor had a large influence on Cincinnati's local music scene. In addition to conducting almost weekly subscription concerts with the Cincinnati Pops, he expanded the Pops program in 1984 to include a summer concert series at the newly built Riverbend Music Center on the banks of the Ohio River. He pushed for a new campus to house the city's public School for Creative and Performing Arts. He invited many local performers, including children's choruses and College-Conservatory students, to share the stage with the Pops.[4]
In April 2009, Kunzel was diagnosed with pancreatic, liver and colon cancer and received chemotherapy treatments in Cincinnati.[8] He conducted a final concert at Riverbend on August 1, 2009, and died a month later in Bar Harbor, Maine, near his home at Swan's Island.[4] That day, the CSO board of trustees posthumously named him "Founder and Conductor Emeritus" of the Pops.[4]
Discographyedit
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2021)
Tchaikovsky1812, with Kiev Symphony Chorus, Children's Choir of Greater Cincinnati (1979) [reissued in 2001 credited to Cincinnati Pops; cover nearly the same otherwise]
Trumpet Spectacular featuring Doc Severinsen (Hermann Bellstedt arr. Christopher Fazzi; Gioacchino Rossini arr. Erich Kunzel; Jeremiah Clarke; Johann Sebastian Bach arr. Erich Kunzel; Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov arr. Erich Kunzel; Georges Bizet arr. Frank Proto; Giacomo Puccini arr. Christopher Fazzi; Robert Schumann arr. Kunzel; Del Staigers orch. Christopher Fazzi; Leroy Anderson; Johann Sebastian Bach arr. Christopher Fazzi) (March 15, 1990)
Fantastic Journey, featuring the School for the Creative and Performing Arts Children’s Chorus directed by Deborah N. Berry (Danny Elfman; Bernard Herrmann; Leith Stevens; John Barry; Paul Freeman; Jerry Goldsmith; Bruce Broughton; Lee Holdridge; Alex North; John Williams; Craig Safan) (1990)
Pops Plays Puccini (Puccini Without Words): Arrangements for Orchestra – Selections from Giacomo Puccini’s Operas adapted and orchestrated by Crafton Beck, Steven Bernstein, and Erich Kunzel (March 14, 1991)
Ein Straussfest II, featuring Cincinnati Pops Chorale (Johann Strauss I; Johann Strauss II; Josef Strauss; Eduard Strauss) (1993)
Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, story by Meredith Willson & Franklin Lacey, with Timothy Noble, Kathleen Brett, Doc Severinsen, Steven Dauterman, James Racster, Stephen Grant, Timothy Breithaupt, Stephen Madaris, Lewis Dahle von Schalnbusch, Patsy Meyer, Neil Jones, Scott Brannon, Richard Rebilas, Michael Bell, Janet Burnett, Carol Fullman, Ann Siverly, James Thomas Hodges, Indiana University Singing Hoosiers directed by Robert E. Stoll (1993)
The Great Fantasy Adventure Album, featuring Timothy Berens, May Festival Chorus directed by Robert Porco featuring Brian Horne, with John Birge, Charles Pagnard, Paul Piller, Marc Wolfley, Fred Thiergartner, Heather MacPhail, Marcia Labella, Juliet Stratton, Elizabeth Motter (Miklós Rósza; John Williams; Michael Kamen; Patrick Doyle; James Horner; Bernard Herrmann; Alan Silvestri; Laurence Rosenthal; Danny Elfman; Jerry Goldsmith; Mark Knopfler; Lee Holdridge; Basil Poledouris; Michael Bishop, Scott Burgess, Tom Letizia; Brad Fiedel, Julie Spangler) (1994)
The Very Best of Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops – Top 20, featuring Frankie Laine, Doc Severinson, Eddie Daniels, Ed Shaughnessy, Richard Leech, Robert Muckenfuss, Paul Patterson, Tim Berens, Jeanne Dulaney, Central State University Chorus (Christopher Palmer, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington, Jerome Moross, Herschel Burke-Gilbert; Richard Strauss, Jerry Goldsmith; Louis Prima, Tommy Newsom; Max Steiner; Alex North, Patrick Russ; Giacomo Puccini, [Giuseppe Adami, Renato Simoni]; Johann Sebastian Bach, Leopold Stokowski; Frank Proto, John Williams; Danny Elfman; Ferde Grofé; John Barry, Nic Raine; Andrew Lloyd Webber; Nino Rota, Mark McGurty; Henry Mancini; Giacomo Puccini, Steven Bernstein, Erich Kunzel, Crafton Beck; Eduard Strauss; Bob Krogstad; Michael Bishop, Scott Burgess, Tom Letizia; Brad Fiedel, Julie Spangler) (September 27, 1994) [compilation--a limited release included a promotional copy of Meredith Willson's The Music Man as a bonus shrinkwrapped in full jewel case]
Verdi Without Words: Grand Opera for Orchestra – Selections from the Operas of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Adapted, orchestrated, and arranged by Erich Kunzel and Crafton Beck (January 24, 1995)
The Magical Music of Disney, arranged with Danny Troob, featuring Darryl Phinnesee, Susie Stevens Logan, Annie Livingstone, Camille Saviola, with Paul Piller, Tim Berens, Michael Chertock, Scott Lang, Marc Wolfley, Jeanne Dulaney, Michael Kenyon, Paul Patterson; Indiana University Singing Hoosiers conducted by Robert E. Stoll. Additional chorus from the film cast of The Lion King: Jim Gilstrap, Clydene Jackson, Rich Logan, Myrna Mathews, Darryl Phinnessee, Josef Powell, Sally Stevens, Carmen Twillie, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters, Terry Young (Hans Zimmer, Elton John, Tim Rice; Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice) (1995)
Symphonic Star Trek: Music of the Motion Pictures and Television Series featuring Leonard Nimoy (Russ Lindway; Jerry Goldsmith; Michael Bishop; Cliff Eidelman; Dennis McCarthy; Leonard Rosenman; Alexander Courage; James Horner) (April 23, 1996) [partially a compilation of previously released recordings along with newly recorded material]
Aaron Copland: The Music Of America (January 28, 1997)
Beautiful Hollywood (Alan Silvestri; Mark Isham; Carter Burwell; Nancy Wilson; James Horner; Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice; Lennie Niehaus; Ennio Morricone; Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz; Basil Poledouris; Jerry Goldsmith; John Barry; John Williams; Randy Edelman) (September 23, 1997)
The Great Movie Scores from the Films of Steven Spielberg, with Timothy Berens, Michael Turk Richards, School For Creative And Performing Arts Chorale, Sylvia Mitchell, Michael Kenyon, Randolph Bowman, Duane Duggar, Alexander Kerr, Walnut Hills High School Senior Choir (John Williams; Jerry Goldsmith; Quincy Jones) (January 26, 1999)
Epics (Richard Strauss; Miklós Rósza; Hans Zimmer; Max Steiner; Tan Dun; Alex North; Maurice Jarre; Howard Shore; John Williams; Elmer Bernstein) (2003)
Classics at the Pops (Aaron Copland; Camille Saint-Saëns; Ottorino Respighi; Ralph Vaughan Williams; Giuseppe Verdi; Claude Debussy; Edward Elgar; Hector Berlioz; Jaromir Weinberger; Dmitri Shostakovich) (October 26, 2004)
Howard Hanson: Bold Island Suite (world premiere recording) • Symphony No. 2, "Romantic" • Suite from Merry Mount (September 27, 2005)
The Never-Ending Waltz (2006)
Russian Nights (2006)
Great Film Fantasies (John Williams; Howard Shore) (2006)
Christmastime Is Here, with Ann Hampton Callaway, Tony DeSare, King's Singers, John Pizzarelli, Tierney Sutton, Indiana University Singing Hoosiers directed by Michael Schwarzkopf (September 26, 2006)
Masters And Commanders - Music From Seafaring Classics featuring Eric Kim, Timothy Lees (Alfred Newman; Klaus Badelt; Hans Zimmer; Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Luigi Boccherini; Elmer Bernstein; Franz Waxman; Henry Mancini; Bronislau Kaper; Morton Gould; John Debney) (July 24, 2007)
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker: Favorite Selections (September 25, 2007)
Vintage Cinema (Max Steiner; Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Miklós Rósza; Aaron Copland; Franz Waxman; Leonard Bernstein; Bernard Herrmann; Elmer Bernstein) (October 28, 2008)
From the Top at the Pops featuring Christopher O'Riley and America's Best Young Classical Musicians: Caroline Goulding, Chad Hoopes, Corey Dundee, Hilda Huang, Ji-Yong, Matthew Allen (David Popper; Edvard Grieg; Felix Mendelssohn, Johann Sebastian Bach, Max Bruch, Russell Peck) (August 25, 2009)
Christmas At The Pops (Leroy Anderson; Georges Bizet; Victor Herbert; Leopold Mozart; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Mark Leontovich [Mykola Leontovich]; Emil Waldteufel; Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Johann Strauss II; Felix Bernard) (1985)
Syncopated Clock (And Other Favorites By Leroy Anderson) (1986) (issued in Japan as The Typewriter Song)
Ties & Tails. Music Of Duke Ellington And George Gershwin (1986)
A Night At The Pops (1987) (reissued on FirstChoice in 1991)
An Enchanted Evening ...The Music Of Richard Rodgers (1987)
Paavo Järvi, Kunzel's counterpart at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
John Morris Russell, Kunzel's successor at the Cincinnati Pops, named in December 2010.
Referencesedit
^Osborne, William (2004). Music in Ohio. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. p. 225. ISBN 0-87338-775-9. Retrieved 2009-09-02. Kunzel, first associated with the Cincinnati Symphony in 1965, has been dubbed the Prince of Pops, a Midwestern Arthur Fiedler with a far-flung career still centered in Cincinnati.
^"2006 National Medal of Arts – Erich Kunzel" (Press release). National Endowment for the Arts. 2007-11-16. Archived from the original on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
^ abcd
Wissmuller, Christian (January 21, 2008). "Conversations With...The Prince of Pops". School Band & Orchestra. Needham, Massachusetts: Symphony Publishing. Archived from the original on September 7, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ abcdefg
Gelfand, Janelle (2009-09-01). "Erich Kunzel dies at 74". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio: Gannett Company. [Kunzel] died Tuesday [September 1] at about 10 a.m. in Bar Harbor, Maine, near his home on Swan's Island ... Kunzel's final public appearance was with his own Cincinnati Pops Orchestra at Riverbend Music Center on Aug. 1, [in] the outdoor venue that he and the orchestra had christened in 1984.... He was a tireless champion for the new School for Creative & Performing Arts, nearing completion in Over-the-Rhine. It is by the sheer force of his magnetism and influence that the nation's first K-12 performing arts public school will welcome students in the fall of 2010.... One of his hallmarks was to include local talent on the concert stage – children's choruses, cloggers and musical theater students from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.... Kunzel has led PBS' nationally televised July Fourth and Memorial Day concerts, conducting the National Symphony Orchestra on the lawn at the U.S. Capitol.... In 2006, Kunzel was awarded the National Medal of Arts.... He was one of five artists chosen this year to be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, which has headquarters in Cincinnati.... He was conducting assistant to legendary French conductor Pierre Monteux.... Kunzel ... became a mentor to a new generation, including the Boston Pops' Keith Lockhart and the New York Pops' Steven Reineke.
^Delta Omicron Archived January 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ ab"Timeline: Erich Kunzel through the years". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio: Gannett Company. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 1998 – Kunzel is the first conductor to present a symphonic pops concert in China when he guest-conducts the China National Symphony in Beijing. The Pops and Telarc win a Grammy for 'Copland: Music of America.' ... 2008 – The Beijing Organizing Committee invites Kunzel and the Pops to perform two concerts during opening weekend of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the only American orchestra invited.
^Gelfand, Janelle (2009-05-01). "Kunzel diagnosed with cancer". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio: Gannett Company. The 74-year-old Cincinnati Pops conductor was diagnosed on Wednesday [April 29] with pancreatic, liver and colon cancer and will be undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Cincinnati.
Sourcesedit
"Erich Kunzel" in Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 17. Gale Research, 1996.
Thierstein. "Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra". In L. Macy (ed.). Grove Music Online. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2006.
External linksedit
Erich Kunzel photo gallery from the Cincinnati Pops