Former New York Philharmonic conductor Kurt Masur has passed away.
The legendary German music conductor, who led the New York Philharmonic orchestra for 11 years and is credited for transforming it, died Saturday in Greenwich, Conn. at the age of 88, according to CNN.
Masur passed in the hospital from complications of Parkinson's disease, The New York Times reported.
Masur was the music director of the Philharmonic from 1991 to 2002 and was later named music director emeritus. He was the first to ever receive that title and only the second person ever, after Leonard Bernstein, to be given an honorary position of any kind.
"Masur's tenure, one of the longest in Philharmonic history, both set a standard and left a legacy that lives on today," Philharmonic President Matthew VanBiesen said in a statement, according to ABC News. "What we remember most vividly is Masur's profound belief in music as an expression of humanism. We felt this powerfully in the wake of 9/11, when he led the Philharmonic in a moving performance of Brahms's 'Ein Deutsches Requiem' and musicians from the Orchestra gave free chamber concerts around Ground Zero. Today, New Yorkers still experience this humanist mark through the popular Annual Free Memorial Day Concert, which he introduced. The entire New York Philharmonic family sends our sympathy."
Masur is survived by his third wife, Tomoko, their son, Ken-David, and his wife, Melinda Lee; his daughter, Angelika and Carolin; his sons, Michael and Matthias; and his nine grand children, according to The Guardian. A private funeral will be held, and a public memorial is also planned for a later time.
