Anton Seidl (1850–1898)

Hungarian conductor who worked in Germany and the United States. He headed the New York Philharmonic Society from the year 1891 and led the orchestra in the world premiere of Dvořák’s New World Symphony on 16 December 1893, later also frequently including the work in his concert programmes. He was in regular contact with Dvořák during the composer’s time in the United States. Dvořák greatly respected Seidl’s skills as a conductor, as reflected in comments the composer made in his correspondence: “The Philharmonic also played my E minor symphony recently and they’ll be playing all three overtures at the 3rd concert. Seidl will be conducting. He’s very capable, I’d love you to hear my work under his baton.”