Max Zach,
Conductor 1907 - 1921

1907 brought two important changes, Max Zach was named as the third conductor of the newly christened St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The new conductor and the new name were both an attempt by the board of directors to solidify the place and quality of the orchestra in the American musical scene. Zach, former principal viola of the Boston Symphony, had ten years experience as a conductor. He brought to the orchestra a strong conviction for the classical repertoire, more professional rehearsals and their first regular seasonal paychecks. He was also a recruiter of new and noteworthy musicians for his orchestra and thus performance quality vastly improved.

An exacting conductor, Zach began his tenure with a total of eight symphony concerts and eighteen popular. Slowly, he increased the musical level of the audience and a more balanced schedule of fifteen to twenty pairs of orchestral concerts and around twenty popular concerts emerged. This period also saw the introduction to St. Louis of world renowned guest soloists. Much of the standard orchestral repertoire was introduced to the symphony's programming in this period. Max Zach died at age 56, February 3, 1921, from an infection acquired after the extraction of a tooth.