Efrem Kurtz; Conductor Specialized in Ballet

Efrem Kurtz, 94, internationally praised conductor who rooted his career in ballet, particularly with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Born in St. Petersburg, Kurtz fled Russia and the Bolsheviks at the age of 19 to complete his education in Germany at Berlin’s Stern Conservatoire. After working as musical director of the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Kurtz was invited by the legendary dancer Anna Pavlova to open her season at London’s Covent Garden in 1928. Fleeing Germany in 1933 when the Nazis put him on a hit list, Kurtz sold tea in Paris before gravitating to the theater where the Ballets Russes were performing. The groups, with Kurtz on the podium, soon became a fixture in London. During World War II, Kurtz came to the United States and became an American citizen. He worked with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and recorded with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra before becoming a free-lance conductor. He toured the world, conducting well into his 80s. Among the many groups he conducted was the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. On June 27 in London.