Hellmut Stern, who fled Germany with his family as a child to escape the Nazis, then returned years later to join the Berlin Philharmonic as a violinist and later became a leading member of the orchestra, died on March 21 at his home in Berlin. He was 91.

The Philharmonic announced the death. Mr. Stern had Parkinson’s disease in his later years, according to Misha Aster, a friend who wrote about the Philharmonic.

Admired as much for his life story as for his musicianship, Mr. Stern was a member of one of the world’s most illustrious orchestras for more than three decades. For most of that time, the Philharmonic was led by the strong-willed conductor Herbert von Karajan, one of the towering maestros of the 20th century.

Mr. Stern rose to become the equivalent of associate concertmaster and also served several terms as a member of the orchestra’s leadership committee. As such, he was “deeply involved in orchestra politics and management,” Mr. Aster said in a phone interview. This often put him in conflict with Mr. Karajan, who had a tempestuous relationship with the orchestra anyway.