Alfred Wallenstein (October 7, 1898 – February 8, 1983) was an American cellist and conductor. A successful solo and orchestral cellist in his early life, Wallenstein took up conducting in the 1930s and served as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1943 to 1956. Early life Wallenstein was born on October 7, 1898, in Chicago, Illinois. His family was of Austrian descent, having immigrated to the United States in the 1880s, and was descended from Albrecht von Wallenstein, a noted military commander in the Thirty Years' War. As a boy, Wallenstein took piano lessons, taught by his parents, who were amateur musicians. After his family moved to Los Angeles in 1905, Wallenstein was made to choose between a gift of a bicycle or a cello, opting for the cello. He made rapid progress on the instrument, first gaining notability playing in restaurants. Playing career By his early teenage years, he had found work in Clune's Theater on Broadway, where he caught the attention of impresario Lynden Behymer. Owing to Behymer's connections, Wallenstein was given performance opportunities in high-profile clubs, as well as pit orchestras for silent films, where he became a personal favorite of prominent actors including Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. By age fifteen, he had found popularity on vaudeville, touring as "The Wonder Boy Cellist." At the age of 17, he joined the cello section of the San Francisco Symphony. He subsequently toured South America with Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, whom Wallenstein had impressed after accompanying her on a performance of The Swan by Saint Saens. Upon returning from the tour in 1919, Wallenstein joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He saved his money and traveled to Leipzig, where he studied with German cellist Julius Klengel and briefly attempted to earn a degree in medicine at his father's urging. Wallenstein returned to the United States after two years in Germany, and through Klengel's influence, he was appointed principal cello of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Frederick Stock. His playing greatly impressed Stock, who would later dedicate his Cello Concerto to Wallenstein. In 1927, Wallenstein saw Arturo Toscanini conduct for the first time, becoming enamored of his musicality. He auditioned for Toscanini's New York Philharmonic, to which he was appointed principal cellist in 1929. Conducting career Toscanini, also a cellist, urged Wallenstein to become a conductor. In 1931, Wallenstein was hired by New York radio station WOR, serving