Music
Sixten Ehrling
1918–2005 · conductor, pianist
Swedish conductor who led the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1963 to 1973, premiered 24 works with it and helped found its summer festival at Meadow Brook.
- Born
Malmö, Sweden- Died
New York City, New York
aged 86- Birth name
- Evert Sixten Ehrling
- Detroit years
- 1963–1973
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Ehrling came to Detroit in 1963 from the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, where he had been music director, to succeed Paul Paray. He stayed ten seasons, playing the winter season at Ford Auditorium on the riverfront. By the orchestra's count he conducted 722 concerts and 664 different works, including 24 world premieres, and he made room for new music: the Italian composer Luciano Berio held a short residency with the orchestra during his tenure. In 1964 he helped inaugurate the Meadow Brook Music Festival on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, which gave the DSO a summer home in the northern suburbs. After leaving Detroit in 1973 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut and taught conducting at the Juilliard School until 1987, where his students included JoAnn Falletta and Andrew Litton. He lived in New York until his death in 2005.
Highlights
- Music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 1963–1973
- 722 DSO concerts and 24 world premieres, by the orchestra's count
- Helped inaugurate the Meadow Brook Music Festival in 1964
- Luciano Berio held a residency with the DSO in his era
- Taught conducting at Juilliard, 1973–1987
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1963–1973
Ford Auditorium
Demolished · 1956–2011
The DSO's riverfront home throughout Ehrling's decade; demolished in 2011.
Founded · 1964–1973
Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
The outdoor pavilion at Oakland University whose summer festival Ehrling helped inaugurate in 1964 as the DSO's summer home; now the Meadow Brook Amphitheatre.