“The 1970s are hardly ancient history, but the decade seems like a distant world that had African American symphony and opera conductors in a few highly visible positions,” writes David Patrick Stearns last Tuesday (9/1) at NYC classical radio station WQXR. “Though not exactly common, Black conductors were a definite presence—long-emerging careers blossomed and young firebrands soared.… This lost generation of African American conductors led major concerts by Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony, gave the Philadelphia Orchestra premiere of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 8, and led the Metropolitan Opera.… There’s ample proof that Dean Dixon (1915–76) and Calvin Simmons (1950–82) … can be counted among the finest of any generation. Their contemporaries include Henry Lewis (1932–96), who conducted 143 performances at the Met between 1972 and 1977…. James DePreist (1936–2013) built the Oregon Symphony over 20-plus years, and received the National Medal of Arts.… Paul Freeman (1936–2015) extensively recorded under-represented African American composers … and went on to hold number of appointments, most notably the Victoria (BC) Symphony [Freeman founded Chicago Sinfonietta in 1987].… Isaiah Jackson (b. 1945) brought the massive Mahler Symphony No. 8 to Dayton, Ohio, and extensively conducted ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.”