10 November 1913, Nikisch made one of the earliest recordings of a complete symphony, Beethoven's 5th, with the Berlin Philharmonic, a performance later reissued on LP and CD by DGG and other modern labels. He also made a series of early recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, some of which display the portamento characteristic of early-20th century playing. Death Nikisch died in Leipzig in 1922, and was buried there. Immediately after his death, the square where he had lived was renamed Nikischplatz, and in 1971 the city created the Arthur Nikisch Prize for young conductors. Legacy His legacy is as one of the founders of modern conducting, with deep analysis of the score, a simple beat, and a charisma that let him bring out the full sonority of the orchestra and plumb the depths of the music. Nikisch's conducting style was greatly admired by Leopold Stokowski, Arturo Toscanini, Sir Adrian Boult, Fritz Reiner, Ervin Nyiregyházi, and many others, including George Szell, who called Nikisch "an orchestral wizard." Reiner said, "It was [Nikisch] who told me that I should never wave my arms in conducting, and that I should use my eyes to give cues." Henry Wood wrote, "I remember... his marvellous way of listening so intently to every phrase he directed.... When rehearsing a melody, he invariably sang it to the orchestra with great emotional feeling – and then would say: 'Now play it as you feel it.' No conductor that I have heard has ever surpassed his emotional feeling and dramatic intensity." Arthur Nikisch had a huge impact on Wilhelm Furtwängler. The latter always considered Nikisch as his single model. Nikisch supported Furtwängler at the beginning of his career and predicted that he would be his successor. A film survives of Nikisch conducting; after seeing it Herbert von Karajan described how impressed he was by Nikisch's use of his eyes instead of hand motions. Notes References Kalisch, Alfred (1922). “Arthur Nikisch.” Musical Times 63, no. 649, 172–74 Ferdinand Pfohl: Arthur Nikisch als Mensch und Künstler, Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, Leipzig, (ca. 1900) Ferdinand Pfohl: Arthur Nikisch: Sein Leben, seine Kunst, sein Wirken. Alster, Hamburg 1925 External links 1855 births 1922 deaths People from Győr-Moson-Sopron County People from the Kingdom of Hungary Hungarian people of Czech descent Hungarian conductors (music) Hungarian male musicians Male conductors (music) Hungarian expatriates in Germany 19th-century conductors (music) 20th-century conductors (music) 19th-century Hungarian musicians 20th-century Hungarian