Sébastian, Georges (1903–1989)

Hungarian-born French conductor. He studied with Bartók and Kodály at the Budapest Academy, and worked as an opera coach in Munich and New York. He conducted the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra and the Berlin Städtische Oper (1927–31), notably in Bluebeard's Castle and Jonny Spielt auf. He conducted the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1930s, and worked in the USA and South America during World War II. From 1947 he was heard at the Paris Opéra (making his debut with Rigoletto), and with the Orchestre National (with Brahms, Strauss, and Verdi). He conducted Ariadne auf Naxos at Aix-en-Provence in 1966, and recorded Mignon and Thaïs.