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Former St. Louis Maestro Hans Vonk Dies

Orchestra photo of Hans Vonk
Orchestra photo of Hans Vonk

By Tom Weber, KWMU

St. Louis, MO – Former St. Louis Symphony music director Hans Vonk died Sunday at the age of 63. He helped raise the symphony to international prominence.

He had a rare condition similar to Lou Gehrig's Disease, which forced him to retire two years ago. The Post-Dispatch's Music Critic Sarah Bryan Miller says Vonk tried to keep his condition private until it started affecting his work. Vonk had to conduct sitting down towards the end of his tenure.

That's where there will be a memorial for Vonk this week in the Netherlands.

KWMU's Tom Weber spoke with the Post-Dispatch's Classical Music Critic, Sarah Bryan Miller. You can hear that interview, as it aired on KWMU, by clicking here --->

You can hear the full, eight-and-a-half minute interview by clicking here --->

Vonk was also a guest on KWMU's Cityscape on Nov. 23, 1997. You can hear that 22-minute interview with Vonk and then-host Joe Pollack by clicking here --->

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