Frederik Prausnitz, 84, Conductor
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Internationally acclaimed conductor Frederik Prausnitz, who promoted contemporary classical music, died November 12 of cancer at his home in Lewes, Del. He was 84.
Prausnitz worked with several American and European orchestras and served on the faculties of New York’s Juilliard School, Boston’s New England Conservatory, and the Peabody Institute’s conservatory in Baltimore.
Born in Cologne, Germany, he was sent to Philadelphia in the 1930s to avoid service in the Nazi army. Prausnitz attended Juilliard from 1941 to 1945 and worked at the school until 1961.
In the early 1970s, he had a contentious tenure as music director at the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. His selections of contemporary programming led to tension with the orchestra’s board, and he made an appeal to audience members during the intermission of one concert for their support. The board bought out his contract in 1974.
His recordings included works by Carl Ruggles (“Lilacs” and “Portals”); Elliott Carter (“Double Concerto” and “Variations for Orchestra”); and Roger Sessions (“Rhapsody for Orchestra,” “Eighth Symphony,” and “Montezuma”).
