Swiss orchestra conductor Armin Jordan dies

GENEVA, Sep 20 (Reuters) Swiss conductor Armin Jordan, a familiar figure in leading opera houses and concert halls around Europe and the United States, died today, aged 74, the Geneva-based Suisse Romande orchestra (OSR) announced.

The craggy-featured Jordan, born in Lucerne in central Switzerland on April 9, 1932, had largely cut back on his appearances since collapsing with pneumonia while conducting at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2001.

Next year he would have celebrated 50 years in the profession, starting as an assistant to the chief conductor at the theatre in the northern Swiss city of Biel in 1957 and later winning international fame for his Wagner interpretations.

From 1985 to 1997, he was chief conductor of the OSR -- a concert orchestra which also serves as the orchestra for Geneva's Grand Opera -- and took it on many foreign tours, including five times to the United States.

He worked widely in France and Germany, conducting operas by Mozart, Berg, Puccini, Shostakovich, Richard, Strauss, Massenet and Debussy.

REUTERS PB BST0001