Anis Fuleihan (1900-1970): Symphony No. 2 (1967); New York Philharmonic conducted by Anis Fuleihan: 16 Feb. 1967
Born in the Greek town of Kyrenia on the northern coast of Cyprus of Lebanese parents, American pianist, conductor, and composer Anis Fuleihan studied at the English School in Kyrenia. He went to the USA in 1915 where he studied the piano in New York with Alberto Jonas. He became an American citizen in 1925.
After touring the USA and the Middle East, staying a time in Cairo, he returned to the U.S.A. in 1928 where he became a radio conductor and composed ballet music for various groups in New York. In 1932 he joined the staff of G. Schirmer, Inc., where he remained for seven years. In 1945, he joined the faculty at Indiana University in Bloomington; in 1953, he became the director of the Beirut Conservatory in Lebanon. He also was the founder and the director of the Lebanese Conservatory and orchestra during these years. Then the U. S. State Depatment sent Fuleihan to Tunis in1952 where in 1963 he organised the Orchestra Classique de Tunis where he remained until 1965.
Attracting the attention of Eugène Goossens who premiered his Mediterranean Suite, Anis Fuleihan won a Guggenheim Fellowship. There he accepted many commissions and teaching positions in Beirut, Egypt and Tunis.
