(CNN) Kurt Masur, the German music conductor credited with revitalizing the New York Philharmonic into an orchestra of international renown, died Saturday, the Philharmonic said.

The 88-year-old classical music legend died in Greenwich, Connecticut, of complications from Parkinson's disease, the Philharmonic said on his family's behalf.

Masur led orchestras and opera companies throughout Europe before serving as music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1991 to 2002. He was later named music director emeritus, becoming the first to receive that title and only the second after Leonard Bernstein to be given an honorary position.

"Maestro Masur's 11-year tenure, one of the longest in the Philharmonic's history, both set a standard and left a legacy that lives on today," New York Philharmonic President Matthew VanBesien said in a statement.

A champion of Bach and Mendelssohn, Masur was a well-known humanist who believed in the healing power of music. He is credited with playing a key role in keeping the peace during demonstrations in East Germany in 1989, and, later, using music to ease souls after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

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