Overview

• His wife told dpa he died on Saturday in Munich at age 95, two days before his 96th birthday.
• The Berlin-born maestro advanced from a Solti-hired répétiteur in Frankfurt to Germany's youngest Generalmusikdirektor at 27 in Lübeck.
• He led the Hamburg State Opera from 1977 to 1984 and later the Cleveland Orchestra in a widely praised tenure, followed by roles with London’s Philharmonia and the Orchestre de Paris.
• He returned to Hamburg to head the NDR Sinfonieorchester from 2004 to 2011 and became a prominent advocate for the Elbphilharmonie.
• His life bridged resistance and musical legacies as son of Hans von Dohnányi and nephew of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and as a grandson-pupil of composer Ernst von Dohnányi.