Conductor Eugen Jocum; Founder of Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

MUNICH —  Conductor Eugen Jocum, founder of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, has died at his Munich home. He was 84.

Known for his romantic interpretations of the works of composer Anton Bruckner, Jocum conducted orchestras throughout the world and made many recordings. He founded the Bavarian Radio Symphony in 1949 and led it until 1960.

Jocum died Thursday after a long illness, according to Josef Othmar Zoller, director of Bavarian Radio.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a frequent guest conductor with the Berlin and London Philharmonic orchestras and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.

In 1983, Bavarian Cultural Minister Hans Maier, awarding a state cultural prize to Jocum, praised him as an artist “who was capable of letting orchestras sing.”