Lothar Kempter

He was born in 1844 in Lauingen. His father was music teacher Friedrich Kempter. Following his father's wishes he started studying law at the University of Munich. In 1868, after his father had died, he changed to studying music. At the Royal Music Academy in Munich he studied Musical ensemble with Hans von Bülow, composition with Josef Rheinberger, choir singing with Franz Wüllner, and piano with Carl Baermann.

In 1871, he moved to Magdeburg, where he became second Kapellmeister of the orchestra of the Stadttheater Magdeburg. The same year he married singer Caroline Leonoff.

He then conducted for three years the orchestra at the Strasbourg theatre. In 1875, he became Kapellmeister at the Aktientheather in Zürich, a position which he held until 1915. In 1879 he became director of the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich.

In 1886, he began teaching music theory and composition at the Zurich Conservatory (merged in 1999 into the School of Music, Drama, and Dance (HMT), itself merged in 2007 into the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)). In 1892 he became a citizen of Zürich.

In 1911 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich.

In 1899, eleven years after his first wife Caroline had died, he married Hedwig Ratzinger, who died in 1908. In 1910, he married Philomena Jakob (alias Philo Jarno). Both were singers at the Stadttheater Zurich.

He died in Vitznau at the age of 74.