German conductor Günter Wand was born in Elberfeld on 7 January 1912. He studied and spent much of his working life in Cologne, where he became the city's General Music Director in 1946. His recordings include complete Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Schubert cycles. He was Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra during the 1980s and 90s.
Günter Wand passed away in Switzerland on 14 February 2002, aged ninety.