Günter Wand
Born: 7th January 1912, Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany
Died: 14th February 2002, Ulmiz, Switzerland
Nationality: German
Günter Wand's interest in music was sparked by a performance he attended of Der Zigeunerbaron with Richard Tauber - he was so engrossed in the music that he decided he would become a conductor. After studying at the conservatory in Cologne he became the director of the opera there in 1939, a position he held throughout the war and for some time afterwards.
In 1982 he took charge of the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg, and made numerous guest appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic - conducting five Bruckner symphonies in the late 1990s and early 2000s.