Franz Xaver Ohnesorg
German conductors have always been highly-regarded in the United States. Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic, Wolfgang Sawallisch at the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Christoph von Dohnanyi at the Cleveland Orchestra are current examples of successful German music directors in America. On the other hand, Germans admire Americans for their managerial skills. For the past half year, however, a German manager has shaped the music life in New York. In August 1999, Franz Xaver Ohnesorg traded his position as artistic director at the Cologne Philharmonic for the job of an artistic and managing director at the renowned Carnegie Hall. In Cologne, he was credited for being an unbureaucratic, experimental leader whose projects included the construction of the Cologne Philharmonic Concert Hall. In the city that never sleeps, he is also earning the reputation of an agile manager, as Georg Hirsch found out on a visit in Ohnesorg's New York office.
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