Herbert Blomstedt, renowned conductor with a seven-decade career, dies aged 99

The much loved Swedish-American musician, particularly known for his work with the San Francisco Symphony and Leipzig Gewandhaus, continued performing until earlier this year

The conductor Herbert Blomstedt has died aged 99. His career stretched over an extraordinary seven decades and he continued to conduct and tour into his late 90s; his final concert was earlier this year, aged 98.

Born in Massachusetts, US, in July 1927 to Swedish parents, the musician grew up in Sweden and Finland. His conducting tutors included Igor Markevitch, Jean Morel and Leonard Bernstein.

He made his conducting debut with the Stockholm Philharmonic in 1954. Posts that followed included principal conductor of Oslo Philharmonic (1962-68), and a decade in the same role with Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1967-77).