- Period: Romantic (1820-1869)
- Country: Switzerland
- Born: October 18, 1909 in Bucharest, Romania
- Died: March 09, 1960 in Wabern, Switzerland
Biography
Born in Bucharest, in 1909, Otto Ackermann was an important operatic conductor in the German tradition. His first professional position was at the Düsseldorf Opera House, where he was appointed Kappelmeister in 1927, after completing his musical studies at the Royal Academy of Bucharest and the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. In 1932, he became Chief Kapellmeister at the German Theater of Brno, Czechoslovakia, remaining there until 1935. That year, he moved to Switzerland in 1935, where he was chief Kapellmeister of the Berne Municipal Theater from 1935 to 1947.World War II prevented the development of an international career, which waited until the years beginning in 1949, when he primarily worked in the Zurich Opera, where he was principal conductor from 1949 to 1953. He became director of the Cologne Opera House in 1955 and returned to Zurich in 1958.
During the 1950s, he began to appear more frequently as guest conductor and was especially valued as a conductor of the leading operettas and of Mozart's operas. He most frequently guest conducted at the Vienna State Opera. Ackermann, who died in 1960, left a number of valued recordings, including a Léhar and Johann Strauss, operattas, and several orchestral song recordings with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. ~ Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide
