# Max Reiter > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Max_Reiter > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Max_Reiter.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reiter > Source revision: 1344901842 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American conductor}} '''Max Reiter''' (20 October 1905 [Trieste](/source/Trieste%2C_Italy), [Austro-Hungarian Empire](/source/Austro-Hungarian_Empire) – 13 December 1950 [San Antonio](/source/San_Antonio)) was an Italian-born [American](/source/United_States) conductor who founded the [San Antonio Symphony Orchestra](/source/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.''Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 1: January 1946 – July 1949,'' [H. W. Wilson Company](/source/H._W._Wilson_Company), New York (1949)''Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 2: August 1949 – August 1952,'' [H. W. Wilson Company](/source/H._W._Wilson_Company), New York (1953)''Obituaries on File,'' Two volumes, compiled by Felice D. Levy (born 1940), New York: [Facts on File](/source/Infobase_Publishing) (1979) == Conducting appointments == * 1925 — Assistant Conductor, [Berlin State Opera](/source/Berlin_State_Opera) * [Munich Philharmonic](/source/Munich_Philharmonic) * [Milan Conservatory](/source/Milan_Conservatory) Orchestra * 1938 — [Augusteo Orchestra](/source/Augusteo_Orchestra) in RomeJan Onofrio, ''Texas Biographical Dictionary, Volume 2'', third edition, pg. 164, Somerset Publishers, New York (1996) {{ISBN|040309951X}} == Growing up == Reiter was born in [Trieste, Italy](/source/Trieste%2C_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](/source/Munich), where he continued his middle-school education and went on to attend a university. He studied conducting with [Bruno Walter](/source/Bruno_Walter) and, at the insistence of his father, earned a doctorate in law.[Theodore Albrecht](/source/Theodore_Albrecht), ''101 Years of Symphonic Music in San Antonio,'' [Southwestern Musician](/source/Texas_Music_Educators_Association), [Texas Music Educators Association](/source/Texas_Music_Educators_Association), March, November 1975[San Antonio Express-News](/source/San_Antonio_Express-News), October 11, 1964San Antonio Light, October 6, 1963.[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fre28 Lois Isabel Oppenheimer (''née'' Goldsmith; 1919–2010), ''Max Reiter''], The Handbook of Texas Online, [Texas State Historical Association](/source/Texas_State_Historical_Association) (Oppenheimer was the stepdaughter of Max Reiter) == Immigration to America == Reiter fled his home in Italy in 1939, during the rise in [fascism](/source/fascism) and [antisemitism](/source/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](/source/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. == Move to Texas == With a list of eighteen Texas cities to visit, Reiter's first stop was in [Waco](/source/Waco), at [Baylor University](/source/Baylor_University),''Max Reiter, Founder of Texas Symphony Orchestras, Is Dead'', [Reading Eagle](/source/Reading_Eagle), December 14, 1950 where he persuaded the university president to let him work one week with the orchestra, which he did with success. A couple of people from San Antonio who heard the concert persuaded him to try conducting in San Antonio. On June 12, 1939, Reiter gave a demonstration concert at the [Sunken Garden Amphitheater](/source/San_Antonio_Japanese_Tea_Garden). From then on, Reiter flourished as the founding musical director of the [San Antonio Symphony Orchestra](/source/San_Antonio_Symphony_Orchestra), while directing the quality symphony orchestra that he founded in Waco.''Pioneer Jewish Texans'', by Natalie Gene Ornish, ''(née'' Moskowitz; 1926) & [Sara Alpern-Tarlow](/source/Sara_Alpern), PhD, [Texas A & M University Press](/source/Texas_A_%26_M_University_Press), pg. 231 (1989) {{OCLC|759158575}} {{ISBN|1603444335}} {{ISBN|9781603444330}} == Death == In December 1950, Reiter was told to give his heart a rest. Heeding the advice, he recommended [Victor Alessandro](/source/Victor_Alessandro) as a guest conductor. Alessandro, who was a Texas-born conductor, was at the time the conductor of the [Oklahoma City Philharmonic](/source/Oklahoma_City_Philharmonic). Reiter's condition was more serious than he thought; within a week he was dead. Pleased with Reiter's endorsement, the San Antonio Symphony Society offered Alessandro a three-year contract in January 1951.[https://web.archive.org/web/20101123153207/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,888916,00.html#ixzz2C2Lghugj ''Music: Texan to San Antonio'', Time (magazine), January 22, 1951] == References == {{reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Reiter, Max}} Category:1905 births Category:1950 deaths Category:Musicians from San Antonio Category:Italian emigrants to the United States Category:20th-century American conductors (music) Category:Classical musicians from Texas Category:Musicians from Trieste Category:American male conductors (music) Category:20th-century American male musicians --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Max Reiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reiter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reiter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.