Kurt Graunke
Kurt Graunke (September 20, 1915 – June 5, 2005) was a German composer and conductor who founded an orchestra that later became the Munich Symphony Orchestra.
Graunke learned violin and became the second concertmaster at age 17. In 1934 he began studying violin with Gustav Havemann and composition with Adolf Lessle and Hermann Grabner at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, but left in 1935 for financial reasons. During World War II he studied conducting with Wolfgang Schneiderhan in Vienna.
After the war he moved to Munich and started the Symphony Orchestra Graunke, which he led until 1989. The orchestra recorded music for more than 500 films and television programs. In 1990 it became the Munich Symphony Orchestra.
As a composer, Graunke wrote 9 symphonies, a Violin Concerto, a String Quartet, and many short orchestral works. He turned his 1974 String Quartet into a Symphony for Strings, completing the full orchestration in 1976, which became his third symphony. His works have been released on CDs by Sedina.
Music critic Dave Hurwitz once called him "the worst symphonist ever," though he later said the remark was exaggerated.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:33 (CET).