Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (born Rafael Frühbeck; 15 September 1933 – 11 June 2014) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Frühbeck was born in Burgos, Spain to a family of German ancestry. He first took up conducting while on military service in the Spanish Army before graduating from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. Frühbeck was principal conductor of various orchestras around the world, starting with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra from 1958 to 1962, then moving on to the Spanish National Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo and many others. Throughout his career Frühbeck de Burgos recorded on a number of labels. He was a member of the Academy of Fine Arts and History Institución Fernán González. His honours include the 2011 Conductor of the Year award from Musical America. Early life Born in Burgos, Spain, Frühbeck came from a family of German ancestry. His father had been wounded in World War I, and during his employment after the war for the Spanish section of a German company, decided to settle in Spain in order to reduce the need to travel. He then sent for his fiancée in Germany, and the couple reunited in Spain. Frühbeck's mother introduced him to the violin, and he had become concertmaster of the local orchestra by age 14. As a youth, he continued violin studies, along with piano, and composition, at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid. He first took up conducting while on military service in the Spanish Army. He graduated summa cum laude from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich in conducting and won the Richard Strauss Prize. Career Frühbeck was principal conductor of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra from 1958 to 1962. During this time, the orchestra's manager persuaded Frühbeck to use a name that would more clearly indicate his Spanish identity. He subsequently took the professional surname Frühbeck de Burgos as his artist's name, to include the name of his birth city. He served as principal conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra from 1962 to 1978. Outside Spain, Frühbeck de Burgos served as Generalmusikdirektor of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra (1966–1971), music director of the Rundfunkorchester Berlin, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, artistic director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony. He also was principal guest conductor for various orchestras in Europe, Japan, and the United States, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, DC, from 1980