Kurt Masur (German pronunciation: [ˈkʊʁt maˈzuːɐ̯]; 18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and also served as music director of the New York Philharmonic for about ten years. He made many recordings of classical music with major orchestras. Masur is also remembered for his actions to support peaceful demonstrations against the East German government in the 1989 demonstrations in Leipzig; those protests were part of the events leading up to the fall of the Berlin wall.
