Maurice de Abravanel

Maurice de Abravanel (1899-1985) was a French-born American conductor and composer of Jewish-Italian descent. He is best known for his association with the Utah Symphony, which he conducted from 1947 to 1979. He was also the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1941 to 1943 and the Seattle Symphony from 1945 to 1947.

De Abravanel is best known for his recordings of works by Jean Sibelius, Arnold Schoenberg, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss, as well as of his own compositions. His recordings of the symphonies of Sibelius with the Utah Symphony have been widely praised, and his recording of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto with piano soloist David Golub was a critical success.

De Abravanel's most successful recordings include his complete Sibelius Symphony cycle with the Utah Symphony, his recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Utah Symphony and Chorale, and his recordings of Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and Piano Concerto with the Seattle Symphony.

An interesting fact about Maurice de Abravanel is that he was the first conductor to be appointed to the Utah Symphony after its formation in 1940, and he was also the first to conduct the orchestra on tour, taking them on a tour of the western United States in 1949.