Conductor Herbert Blomstedt dies at 99 — Der Spiegel
World-renowned conductor Herbert Blomstedt has died in Gothenburg at the age of 99. The musician's death was announced on Wednesday by the Leipzig Gewandhaus. According to his agency, Blomstedt died at home surrounded by his family, Der Spiegel reports.
Work with leading orchestras
Blomstedt worked in Europe and the United States for decades. He was principal conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the NDR Symphony Orchestra, and also led the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for ten years. As a guest conductor, he performed in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, among other cities.
In 1998–2005, Blomstedt was Gewandhaus Kapellmeister, succeeding Kurt Masur in the post. After completing his work, he remained honorary conductor of the Gewandhaus. During his tenure, the traditional German seating arrangement of musicians in the orchestra was restored, attention was paid to historically informed performance, and the repertoire was expanded with works by Scandinavian composers, including Sibelius and Nielsen.
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Career and honors
Herbert Blomstedt was born in the United States in 1927 to a Swedish family — a preacher and a pianist. He received his first music lessons from his mother, studied violin in Stockholm, and later studied conducting, including under Leonard Bernstein. He made his conducting debut in 1954 with the Stockholm Philharmonic.
In 1969, Blomstedt performed with the Staatskapelle Dresden for the first time, and from 1975 to 1985 he was its principal conductor. In 2017, he led the Gewandhaus Orchestra's four-week anniversary tour of Europe and Asia marking the ensemble's 275th anniversary. That same year, the city of Leipzig awarded him an honorary medal, and in 2022 the conductor received the Grand Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In September 2026, he received Japan's Praemium Imperiale art award.
After Blomstedt's death, Gewandhaus director Andreas Schulz called him one of the most outstanding musicians of his time. Orchestra board chairman Bernhard Krug also recalled the conductor's answer when asked about his legacy: he would like to leave behind friends.
