Ernest Fleischmann

German-born American impresario (December 7, 1924 - June 13, 2010) who served as executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 30 years. He was raised and studied music in South Africa after his Jewish family fled Nazi Germany.

Ernest made his debut as a professional conductor in 1942. He started organising music for the Johannesburg Festival in 1956 and also had a studio business partnership with David Manley. In 1959, he took a position as general manager of The London Symphony Orchestra and worked for a short time as the European director of CBS Masterworks. He became executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969 -- a post he held for three decades.

Mr. Fleischmann died in 2010, aged 85.