The revered German-born conductor has passed away aged 88.

One of the greatest maestros of his generation, Kurt Masur, died on Saturday aged 88 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut from complications of Parkinson’s disease. The German-born conductor was music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1991 until 2002, and made the orchestra one of the world’s greatest during his tenure.

Born in 1927, Masur grew up in the then German province of Lower Silesia, now in modern day Poland. He studied composition, the piano and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony, where he lived and worked until 1990.

In addition to his astonishing musical accomplishments, he is also credited with helping prevent violence at the end of the Communist occupation of East Germany. As the Chief Conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for almost 30 years during the Communist era, Masur used his high public profile in 1989 to appeal for non-violent demonstrations as pro-democracy protesters railed against the GDR regime. Thanks in part to his influence, bloody crackdowns on democratic activists were prevented, saving lives in the weeks leading up to the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall. German Culture Minister Monika Gruetters said of Masur, “The unified Germany owes him an enormous debt of gratitude as a trailblazer and guarantor of a peaceful transition to unity.”

His notable humanitarian role in advocating for calm at the end of the Cold War led some to suggest Masur should become East Germany’s first post-Communist leader, but Masur’s greatest loyalty was always to music. His crucial role in ensuring peace during this turbulent chapter in Germany’s history found expression through his enormous musical gifts at a special gala performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on October 3 1990 in Berlin.

Eleven years later, Masur would once again channel music in the service of restoring social harmony, when he led the New York Philharmonic in a deeply moving performance of Brahms’s Ein Deutsche Requiem, to memorialise the victims of the devastating terrorists attacks of 9/11. “What we remember most vividly is Masur’s profound belief in music as an expression of humanism,” Matthew VanBesien, the President of the New York Philharmonic, said in the statement from the orchestra, who announced Masur’s death on Saturday evening.

Although the great conductor made a truly incalculable contribution to the musical vibrancy of America, Masur maintained strong ties with Europe throughout his career. He served as the principal conductor of the London Philharmonic between 2000 and 2007, after which he accepted an honorary role as musical director of the National Orchestra of France, based in Paris.

In April 2012, a fall from the stage while conducting the National Orchestra of France would mark the decline of Masur’s health. Later that same year he would announce that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

He is survived by his wife Tomoko Sakurai-Masur and his five children.