Israeli music lovers were in mourning today for Istvan Kertesz 43, the Hungarian-born Jewish conductor who drowned Monday while swimming near the Accadia Hotel in Herzlia. Funeral arrangements are awaiting the arrival of his wife from Europe. Mr, Kertesz, who was touring the country as guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, was apparently caught in an undertow while swimming in rough seas.
A Japanese vocalist with the orchestra who accompanied Mr. Kertesz into the water, sounded the alarm but several minutes elapsed before the conductor was pulled from the water. He died en route to a hospital. There was no life guard on duty at the beach which does not open officially until May 1.
Mr. Kertesz was a graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and the Academia Di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He was conductor of the Budapest State Opera until the Hungarian uprising of 1956 when he fled to the West. Since then he had served as conductor of several major orchestras including the London Symphony and the Augsburg Opera House Orchestra. Mr. Kertesz made his American debut in the 1961-62 season with the Detroit Symphony and subsequently conducted all major American orchestras. At the time of his death he was musical director of the Cologne Opera House and Symphony Orchestra.
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