Schmidt, Ole (1928– )

Danish conductor and composer. He studied in Copenhagen where he conducted the Royal Ballet and Opera (1959–65). He was chief conductor of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1971 and the Arhus Symphony Orchestra (1979–85). He made his London debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1977, returning to appear with all the regional orchestras. In 1980 he led the London Symphony Orchestra, in Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony. He made his US debut with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, in 1980. He was guest conductor with the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester (1986–89) and led the first Czech-language performance in England of Janáček's From the House of the Dead (1989). He composed two symphonies and five string quartets.