Erich Kunzel, the prolific conductor who made a large number of acclaimed film music albums with his Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, passed away on Tuesday morning, September 1, at the age of 74. Kunzel had been diagnosed with cancer in April and was undergoing chemotherapy.

His recordings on Telarc Records, among them many film music compilations, are known for their spirited performances and creative repertoire, making the Cincinnati Pops a household name in the cross-over genre. His film music recordings (’Star Tracks,’ ‘Great Film Fantasies,’ ‘Chiller,’ ‘The Big Picture’ and last year’s ‘Vintage Cinema’ to name just a handful) has received a lot of acclaim and Kunzel is widely recognized as one of the most important independent interpreters of Hollywood film music. All in all, the Cincinnati Pops has done 97 recordings, of which 79 have been released by Telarc. Erich Kunzel has been the orchestra’s conductor since its foundation in 1977.

In 2006, he received the the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government, and in May this year he was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. He made his conducting debut in 1957 with the Santa Fe Opera Company, and was invited by Arthur Fiedler to conduct the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1970, an assignment that led to Kunzel’s devotion to the ‘pops’ repertoire, both in Boston (over 100 concerts) and Cincinnati. Other orchestras that has performed under Kunzel’s baton are the China National Symphony Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Volksoper Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.

Kunzel is survived by his wife, Brunhilde.