Wilhelm Schüchter (15 December 1911 – 27 May 1974) was a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor in Dortmund and left a legacy of opera recordings. 　　Born in Bonn, Schüchter studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, composition with Philipp Jarnach, and orchestral conducting with Hermann Abendroth. His debut was at the Landestheater Coburg Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. 　　In 1940 he was at the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, a year later he worked at the Stadttheater Aachen under Herbert von Karajan. In 1943 he was first Kapellmeister of the Theater am Nollendorfplatz in Berlin. From 1945 to 1957 he was second conductor under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt of the Sinfonieorchester von Radio Hamburg, in 1956 named NDR Sinfonieorchester. From 1953 to 1955 he was also principal conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford. Since 1959 he conducted the NHK Symphony Orchestra. His last position was in 1962 Generalmusikdirektor of the Dortmunder Philharmoniker, since 1966 also Intendant of the Dortmund Opera. He improved the quality of the orchestra and opened the new opera house with a performance of Der Rosenkavalier of Strauss, with Elisabeth Grümmer as Marschallin, Teresa Żylis-Gara as Octavian and Kurt Böhme as Ochs. In 1967 he conducted the premiere of the opera Eli of Walter Steffens after the drama of Nelly Sachs, a commission of the city of Dortmund.