Agnes Eisenberger, 79; Owned Artists Management Agency

Agnes Eisenberger, 79, who managed classical musicians such as pianist Alfred Brendel and owned Colbert Artists Management, died of cancer Thursday at a hospital in New York City.

She worked with Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, soprano Joan Sutherland and the Juilliard String Quartet.

Her guidance of Brendel started early in his career and was considered instrumental to his success in the United States.

Born to a musical family in Vienna, Eisenberger emigrated as a child and later attended Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. She began to work for Colbert Artists in the 1960s as an assistant to the agency’s founders, Henry and Ann Colbert.

She took over as owner and president after Ann Colbert retired in 1991.