Enrique Jorda; Music Director Performed Around the World

Spanish-born music director Enrique Jorda, who conducted the San Francisco Symphony and many great orchestras around the world, has died. He was 84.

Jorda, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was music director of the San Francisco Symphony from 1954 to 1963, died March 18 in Brussels, his family said Sunday.

He had been music director of the Madrid Symphony Orchestra in Spain, the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra in South Africa and the Antwerp Philharmonic in Belgium, and had been guest conductor in many of the world’s major concert halls.

In San Francisco, he took special care to highlight the works of local composers. He also took classical music outside the concert hall--to a local prison, for example. His openness to new musical influences led him to stage a classical jazz concert with pianist Dave Brubeck.

He made his well-received Los Angeles debut in 1955, conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl with Yehudi Menuhin as violin soloist.

Jorda became a U.S. citizen in 1963. But he continued to lead an itinerant life, spending most of his time in Europe and settling in Brussels.

Born in San Sebastian, Spain, Jorda as a child lived with his family in New York and San Francisco. At 3 he was given a miniature violin, and at 7 he gave his first public performance. When he was 10, he made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony. A few years later, he impressed the music world when he played concertos by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Jorda is survived by his wife, Audrey, and daughters Karin and Tessa.