He made his public debut as a conductor with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in 1950, conducting Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" from memory.

During these years he worked closely with the acclaimed singers tenor Jussi Björling and soprano Birgit Nilsson.

He resigned his post and departed for the United States after he was asked to amend, and apologise for, his robust leadership style.

Maestro Ehrling conducted nearly 700 works, including 24 world premieres, and helped inaugurate the Meadow Brook Summer Music Festival.

At Juilliard, Ehrling nurtured a new wave of conductors, including Myung-Whun Chung, JoAnn Falletta, Christian Badea, Victoria Bond, and Andrew Litton.

He told his American publicist that he preferred reading his reviews in the smallest room of his house, and brilliantly interwove business arrangements with extremely humorous observations.

In 1987 Ehrling participated in the documentary A Woman Is a Risky Bet: Six Orchestra Conductors directed by Christina Olofson where he comments on the conservative attitudes towards women in the world of classical music.