Ľudovít Rajter

Ľudovít Rajter (Rajter Lajos; 30 July 1906 in Bazin, Kingdom of Hungary – 6 July 2000 in Bratislava, Slovakia) was a Hungarian composer and conductor from Slovakia.

Origin
Rajter's evangelical family had German-Hungarian and Dutch roots. His father worked as a teacher, cantor, and choral conductor in the service of the Lutheran church. Rajter's family came from southern Germany to Hungary during the reign of Maria Theresa (c. 1740). During that time the family name was still "Raiter" or "Rayter". Rajter's family spoke three languages: Hungarian, German, and Slovak.

Professional background
Rajter received his first musical training from his father Lajos Rajter Sr (1880–1945). He was educated at the Town School for Music in Bratislava with Alexander Albrecht from 1915-1920. In 1924 he enrolled at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He was taught by composers Franz Schmidt and Joseph Marx (composition), Clemens Krauss (conductor) and Alexander Wunderer (orchestral conductor). At that time Rajter also worked as an assistant to Clemens Krauss (until 1933).

Hungary
After studying in Vienna, he moved to the Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Főiskola in 1929, where he became a student of Ernst von Dohnányi. In 1935 he became the first conductor of the Hungarian Radio Orchestra in Budapest. He stayed there until 1945. He also worked as a professor at the Academy of Music in Budapest. During this time, Rajter received numerous invitations from major foreign orchestras; numerous works by Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály were premiered by him.

Post-war years
In 1946, Rajter returned to Czechoslovakia and worked until 1949 as chief of the Czecho-Slovak Radio Orchestra in Bratislava. In 1949, he co-founded (together with Václav Talich) the Slovak Philharmonic and became its first conductor. In the Stalinist period, Rajter appeared to be "politically unreliable" to the communist regime of the time, and thus was prohibited from conducting. He was also banned as an "archivist" in the Philharmonic Archives. It was not until 1953, after Stalin's death, that he was once again appointed the head of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, where he remained until 1961. Ladislav Slovák was given the position of chief dignitary at that time.

In 1966, Rajter conducted the Masterclass for Conductors at the Mozarteum in Salzburg during the Summer Academy.

In 1968 he returned to the Czecho-Slovak Radio Orchestra, where he worked until his retirement in 1976 as chief conductor.

He conducted all the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as a part of the works of Mozart and Joseph Haydn.

Since the founding of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava in 1949, he also worked as a teacher at this institution until 1976. After his rehabilitation in 1991 he was awarded the title of professor of this institution.

Rajter, however, also led a lively musical life with numerous concert performances. In the 1980s he was considered the oldest active conductor in the world. Despite his high age, he also received numerous invitations from many important foreign orchestras during this time. The symphonic orchestra of Szombathely appointed him in 1991 as the honorary member of the orchestra for life.

Death
Rajter died on 6 July 2000 in Bratislava. He is buried in Pezinok.

Albums

 * Dvorak: Symphony No. 2 / Legends Op. 59, Nos. 6–10
 * Down The River Hah & Dances From The Hron Region
 * Symphonies nos. 1 & 2
 * Zemlinsky: Symphony No. 1 / Das Gläserne Herz
 * Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Billy the Kid; Fanfare for the Common Man (Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava), conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser
 * The Fantastic Symphony (Episode from an Artist's Life), op. 14 / The Roman Carnival, op. 9
 * Symphonies nos. 3 & 4 / Piano Concerto no. 1 / Alto Rhapsody

Honors

 * 1936: Dr.h.c. New York College of Music
 * 1994: Bártók-Pásztory Award (Bártók-Pásztory-Díj)
 * 1997: Honorary Cross for Science and Art of the Republic of Austria, 1st Class
 * 2000: honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts
 * 2007: Pribina Cross of the first class / in memoriam (Pribinov kríž 1. triedy)
 * 2017: Ján Cikker Price in memoriam (cena Jána Cikkera)