Kurt Masur, the German conductor, gets a Google doodle

Google today is remembering the life and contributions of the German conductor Kurt Masur. He was known as “one of the last old-style maestros.”

He worked as a conductor for almost 60 years between the years of 1955 and 2014, retiring the year before he died at the age of 88 on December 19, 2015. He worked as Kapellmeister of the Gewandhaus for many years and also served as music director of the New York Philharmonic.

Google wrote, “today’s Doodle celebrates Maestro Kurt Masur, world-renowned German conductor and humanitarian.” On what would have been his 91st birthday, Google wanted to celebrate his life with a doodle showing his passion and movements as a conductor with an artistic black-and-white doodle.

Masur received many honors, including Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor from the French government, New York City Cultural Ambassador, Commander Cross of Merit of the Polish Republic, Honorary Citizen of Brieg, the Leo Baeck Medal for promoting tolerance and social justice and a Goldene Henne award for public policy work.

For more on his life, click on the Google logo in the United States, Japan, Germany, Iceland and other regions or check out his Wikipedia page.