# Walter Susskind

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Walter_Susskind
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Walter_Susskind.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Susskind
> Source revision: 1351667624
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Czech-born British conductor and pianist

Not to be confused with [Walter Süskind](/source/Walter_S%C3%BCskind).

Walter Susskind (1950)

**Jan Walter Susskind** (1 May 1913 – 25 March 1980) was a Czech-born British conductor, teacher and pianist. He began his career in his native Prague and travelled to London in March 1939 when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. He worked for substantial periods in Australia, Canada and the United States, as a conductor and teacher.

## Biography

Süsskind was born in Prague.[1] His father was a Viennese music critic and his Czech mother was a piano teacher.[2] At the State Conservatorium he studied under the composer [Josef Suk](/source/Josef_Suk_(composer)), the son-in-law of [Dvořák](/source/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k).[2] He later studied conducting under [George Szell](/source/George_Szell),[2] and became Szell's assistant at the German Opera, Prague, making his conducting debut there with *[La traviata](/source/La_traviata)*;[1] early in his career, he was often known as H. W. Süsskind (H for Hans or Hanuš).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] His younger brother, [Charles Susskind](/source/Charles_Susskind), became a [bioengineering](/source/Bioengineering) professor and technological historian.[3]

Susskind was giving a piano recital in Amsterdam in March 1939 when [Germany occupied Czechoslovakia](/source/Occupation_of_Czechoslovakia_(1938%E2%80%931945)), and his mother advised him not to return home. (She was later interned in [Theresienstadt](/source/Theresienstadt) but survived the war.[2]) With the help of a British journalist and consular officials, he arrived in Britain as a refugee.[2] He formed the Czech Trio, a [chamber ensemble](/source/Musical_ensemble) in which he was the pianist. Encouraged by [Jan Masaryk](/source/Jan_Masaryk), the Czech ambassador in London, the trio obtained many engagements.[2]

In 1942 Susskind joined the [Carl Rosa Opera Company](/source/Carl_Rosa_Opera_Company) as a conductor, working with singers such as [Heddle Nash](/source/Heddle_Nash) and [Joan Hammond](/source/Joan_Hammond),[1][2] and married (1943-1953) the British cellist [Eleanor Catherine Warren](/source/Eleanor_Catherine_Warren).[4] In 1944 he made his first recording for [Walter Legge](/source/Walter_Legge) of [EMI](/source/EMI), conducting Liu's arias from *[Turandot](/source/Turandot)* with Hammond.[2]

After the war, Susskind became a naturalised British citizen, and though he spent much of his subsequent career outside Britain, he said he would never dream of giving up his British citizenship.[2]

Susskind's first appointment as musical director was to the [Scottish Orchestra](/source/Royal_Scottish_National_Orchestra), where he served from 1946 to 1952.[1] He and his wife divorced in 1953.[4] From 1953 to 1955 he was the conductor of the [Melbourne Symphony Orchestra](/source/Melbourne_Symphony_Orchestra) (then known as the Victorian Symphony Orchestra).[1] After free-lancing in Israel and South America he was appointed to head the [Toronto Symphony Orchestra](/source/Toronto_Symphony_Orchestra) (TSO) from 1956 to 1965.[1][2]

In 1960 he founded the [National Youth Orchestra of Canada](/source/National_Youth_Orchestra_of_Canada).[1] In 1962 he gave the World premiere of the Four Epigrams for Symphony Orchestra by [Rudi Martinus van Dijk](/source/Rudi_Martinus_van_Dijk) with the CBC Symphony as part of the CBC's National School Broadcast series Finding Out about Music. While with the TSO he taught conducting at [The Royal Conservatory of Music](/source/The_Royal_Conservatory_of_Music) where among his pupils were [Milton Barnes](/source/Milton_Barnes_(composer)) and [Rudy Toth](/source/Rudy_Toth).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] As he was leaving his post at the TSO, he was featured in a [CFTO](/source/CFTO-DT) television special, "Inside the Toronto Symphony", produced and directed by [Peter Macfarlane](/source/Peter_Macfarlane).[5]

From 1968 to 1975 he was conductor of the [St. Louis Symphony Orchestra](/source/St._Louis_Symphony_Orchestra) with which he made more than 200 recordings.[1] During his seven-year tenure with St. Louis, he taught across the Mississippi River at [Southern Illinois University Edwardsville](/source/Southern_Illinois_University_Edwardsville). He was also closely involved with the [Mississippi River Festival](/source/Mississippi_River_Festival), an annually recurring outdoors [crossover](/source/Crossover_music) concert series organised by the local university.

Susskind served as artistic advisor of the [Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra](/source/Cincinnati_Symphony_Orchestra) from 1978 until his death in 1980.

On May 3, 1971, Susskind returned to the [New York City Opera](/source/New_York_City_Opera) to conduct [Leoš Janáček](/source/Leo%C5%A1_Jan%C3%A1%C4%8Dek)'s *[Makropulos Case](/source/The_Makropulos_Affair_(opera))*.[6]

Susskind died in Berkeley, California, at the age of 66.[1] His personal archives document his career as a conductor, piano accompanist and avant-garde composer. The BBC Radio 3 program *Music Matters* broadcast 29 Jan. 2022 an interview with Susskind's widow Janis, in the process of transferring these materials to the Exilarte Centre, University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.[7]

## Discography (selection)

External audio You may hear Walter Susskind with Glenn Gould and the CBC Symphony Orchestra in: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 in 1962 Here on Archive.org

Recordings include:

- [Bartók](/source/B%C3%A9la_Bart%C3%B3k) – *[Bluebeard's Castle](/source/Bluebeard's_Castle)*, Op. 11, Sz.48 ([Judith Hellwig](/source/Judith_Hellwig); Endre Koréh; Ernö Lorsy); New Symphony Orchestra

- [Bruch](/source/Max_Bruch) – [Violin Concerto in G minor](/source/Violin_Concerto_No._1_(Bruch)), Op. 26 ([Yehudi Menuhin](/source/Yehudi_Menuhin), violin; [Philharmonia Orchestra](/source/Philharmonia_Orchestra))

- [Dvořák](/source/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k) – [Cello Concerto](/source/Cello_Concerto_(Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k)) in B minor, Op. 104 ([Zara Nelsova](/source/Zara_Nelsova), cello; [Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra](/source/Saint_Louis_Symphony_Orchestra))

- Dvorak – [Piano Concerto in G minor](/source/Piano_Concerto_(Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k)), Op. 33 ([Rudolf Firkušný](/source/Rudolf_Firku%C5%A1n%C3%BD), piano; Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- Dvorak – [Violin Concerto in A minor](/source/Violin_Concerto_(Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k)), Op. 53 ([Ruggiero Ricci](/source/Ruggiero_Ricci), violin; Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- Dvorak – [Romance for Violin and Orchestra in F minor](/source/Romance_in_F_minor_(Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k)), Op. 11 (Ruggiero Ricci, violin; Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- Dvorak – Mazurek for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 49 (Ruggiero Ricci, violin; Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- Dvorak – *Silent Woods (Waldesruhe)* for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 68 (Zara Nelsova, cello; Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- Dvorak – Rondo in G minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 (Zara Nelsova, cello; Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- Handel – *[Messiah](/source/Messiah_(Handel))* (London Philharmonic Orchestra)

- [Holst](/source/Gustav_Holst) – *[The Planets](/source/The_Planets)* (Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- [Mozart](/source/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart) – Motet "[Exsultate, jubilate](/source/Exsultate%2C_jubilate)", K. 165 ([Elisabeth Schwarzkopf](/source/Elisabeth_Schwarzkopf), soprano; Philharmonia Orchestra)

- Mozart – [Piano Concerto No 20](/source/Piano_Concerto_No._20_(Mozart)), K. 466 ([Artur Schnabel](/source/Artur_Schnabel), piano; Philharmonia Orchestra)

- Mozart – [Piano Concerto No 24](/source/Piano_Concerto_No._24_(Mozart)), K. 491 (Artur Schnabel; Philharmonia Orchestra)

- Mozart – Piano Concerto No 24, K. 491 ([Glenn Gould](/source/Glenn_Gould), piano; [CBC Symphony Orchestra](/source/CBC_Symphony_Orchestra))

- [Prokofiev](/source/Sergei_Prokofiev) – *[Chout](/source/Chout)* ballet suite, Op. 21a (London Symphony Orchestra)

- [Rachmaninoff](/source/Sergei_Rachmaninoff) – [Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor](/source/Piano_Concerto_No._3_(Rachmaninoff)), Op. 30 ([Leonard Pennario](/source/Leonard_Pennario), piano; Philharmonia Orchestra)

- [Saint-Saens](/source/Camille_Saint-Saens) – [Cello Concerto No. 1 in a minor](/source/Cello_Concerto_No._1_(Saint-Saens)), Op. 33 ([Pierre Fournier](/source/Pierre_Fournier), cello; Philharmonia Orchestra)

- [Sibelius](/source/Jean_Sibelius) – [Violin Concerto in D minor](/source/Violin_Concerto_(Sibelius)), Op. 47 ([Ginette Neveu](/source/Ginette_Neveu), violin; Philharmonia Orchestra)

- [Smetana](/source/Bed%C5%99ich_Smetana) – *[Má vlast](/source/M%C3%A1_vlast)*, Overture and Dances from *[The Bartered Bride](/source/The_Bartered_Bride)* (Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

- [Richard Strauss](/source/Richard_Strauss) – *[Also sprach Zarathustra](/source/Also_sprach_Zarathustra)* (Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra)

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-grove_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-grove_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-grove_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-grove_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-grove_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-grove_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-grove_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-grove_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-grove_1-8) [Bernas, Richard](/source/Richard_Bernas) and Ruth B Hilton. ["Susskind, Walter"](http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/27150), [Grove Music Online](/source/Grove_Music_Online), Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 June 2014 (subscription required)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gram_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gram_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-gram_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-gram_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-gram_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-gram_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-gram_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-gram_2-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-gram_2-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-gram_2-9) "Walter Susskind", *[Gramophone](/source/Gramophone_(magazine))*, April 1972, pp. 1693–1694

1. **[^](#cite_ref-UCBerkeley_3-0)** Sarah Yang (24 June 2004). ["Charles Susskind, UC Berkeley professor emeritus and co-founder of campus bioengineering program, dies at 82"](https://newsarchive.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/06/24_susskind.shtml) (Press release). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 23 January 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-obitelen_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-obitelen_4-1) ["Eleanor Warren obituary"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1500294/Eleanor-Warren.html), *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*, 10 October 2005. Accessed 6 October 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["RPM - Records, Promotion, Music - "On The Air" (page 7)"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/60s/1965/RPM-1965-04-19.pdf) (PDF). *World Radio History*. 19 April 1965. Retrieved 4 February 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Freed, Richard](/source/Richard_Freed) (6 April 1980). "Walter Susskind's Life in Music". *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Music Matters - Andreas Ottensamer, Sarah Kirby, Walter Susskind - BBC Sounds"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0013zyh).

## External links

- Media related to [Walter Susskind](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Walter_Susskind) at Wikimedia Commons

- [Walter Susskind](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/q55871) at [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic_(identifier))

- [Walter Susskind](http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Susskind-Walter.htm), bach-cantatas.com

v t e Royal Scottish National Orchestra Principal Conductors George Henschel (1893) Willem Kes (1895) Wilhelm Bruch (1898) Frederic Cowen (1900) Emil Młynarski (1910) Landon Ronald (1916) Václav Talich (1926) Vladimir Golschmann (1928) John Barbirolli (1933) George Szell (1937) Warwick Braithwaite (1940) Walter Susskind (1946) Karl Rankl (1952) Hans Swarowsky (1957) Alexander Gibson (1959) Neeme Järvi (1984) Bryden Thomson (1988) Walter Weller (1992) Alexander Lazarev (1997) Stéphane Denève (2005) Peter Oundjian (2012) Thomas Søndergård (2018)

v t e Toronto Symphony Orchestra Music Directors Luigi von Kunits (1922) Ernest MacMillan (1931) Walter Susskind (1956) Seiji Ozawa (1965) Karel Ančerl (1969) Andrew Davis (1975) Günther Herbig (1988) Jukka-Pekka Saraste (1994) Peter Oundjian (2004) Gustavo Gimeno (2020)

v t e St. Louis Symphony Music Directors Joseph Otten (1880) Alfred Ernst (1894) Max Zach (1907) Rudolph Ganz (1921) Vladimir Golschmann (1931) Edouard van Remoortel (1958) Eleazar de Carvalho (1963) Walter Susskind (1968) Jerzy Semkow (1975) Leonard Slatkin (1979) Hans Vonk (1996) David Robertson (2005) Stéphane Denève (2019)

v t e Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Directors Frank Van der Stucken (1895) Leopold Stokowski (1909) Ernst Kunwald (1912) Eugène Ysaÿe (1918) Fritz Reiner (1922) Eugene Goossens (1931) Thor Johnson (1947) Max Rudolf (1958) Thomas Schippers (1970) Walter Susskind (1978) Michael Gielen (1980) Jesús López Cobos (1986) Paavo Järvi (2001) Louis Langrée (2013) Cristian Măcelaru (2025)

v t e Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductors Alberto Zelman (1906) Fritz Hart (1927) Bernard Heinze (1932) Alceo Galliera (1950) Juan José Castro (1952) Walter Susskind (1953) Kurt Wöss (1956) Georges Tzipine (1960) Willem van Otterloo (1967) Fritz Rieger (1971) Hiroyuki Iwaki (1974) Markus Stenz (1998) Oleg Caetani (2005) Tadaaki Otaka (2009) Sir Andrew Davis (2013) Jaime Martín (2022)

[Portals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals):
- [Biography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography)
- [Classical music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Classical_music)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Italy Czech Republic Spain Netherlands Norway 2 Latvia Poland Israel Finland Croatia Academics CiNii Artists MusicBrainz LexM FID People Trove Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef SNAC Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walter Susskind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Susskind) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Susskind?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.