Jan Walter Susskind was a Czech-born British conductor, teacher and pianist. He began his career in his native Prague and travelled to London in March 1939 when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. He worked for substantial periods in Australia, Canada and the United States, as a conductor and teacher. Susskind's first appointment as musical director was to the Scottish Orchestra, where he served from 1946 to 1952. From 1953 to 1955 he was the conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. After free-lancing in Israel and South America he was appointed to head the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) from 1956 to 1965. In 1960 he founded the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. While with the TSO, he taught conducting at The Royal Conservatory of Music where among his pupils were Milton Barnes and Rudy Toth. From 1968 to 1975 he was conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with which he made more than 200 recordings. Susskind served as artistic advisor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1978 until his death in 1980.