Wolfgang Sawallisch (born August 26, 1923) is a
German conductor and pianist.
Biography
Sawallisch was born in Munich, and began his career at the opera house in Augsburg in 1947.[1]
In 1953 he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, becoming the youngest person ever
to do so. When he debuted at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus conducting
Tristan und Isolde in 1957, he was the youngest conductor ever to appear there
as well.
From 1960 to 1970 he was Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony, and from 1971 to
1992 was General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera.
From 1993 to 2003 he was Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and is
currently its Conductor Laureate. He is also Honorary Conductor Laureate of the NHK
Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo.
After his tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Sawallisch returned for guest-conducting appearances in Philadelphia and at
Carnegie Hall.[2]
However, ill health related to blood pressure problems in recent years has prevented Sawallisch from conducting. In an article
from The Philadelphia Inquirer of August 27, 2006, Sawallisch stated for the record that he is retired from the concert
podium:
"It can happen without announcement that my blood pressure is too low. This instability gives me the necessity to finish my
career after 57 years of concert and opera conducting."[3]
Sawallisch's wife Mechthild died in 1998. They had a son, Jorg. Sawallisch is an honorary member of The Robert Schumann Society. In 2003, Sawallisch helped to establish a music school in Grassau, Germany, the Wolfgang Sawallisch Stiftung (Foundation).
Prominent interpretations
Sawallisch has been acclaimed as an interpreter of the music of Richard
Strauss.[4][5] As a pianist, he has accompanied a number of prominent singers in
lieder, including Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Dame
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Margaret
Price.
Sawallisch has also recorded, as piano accompanist, Franz Schubert's Die
Winterreise and Robert Schumann's Liederkreis and other songs with Thomas
Hampson. One of his most celebrated live concert appearances as a pianist was on 11 February 1994 in Philadelphia, when Sawallisch substituted for The Philadelphia Orchestra at an all-Wagner
concert on the night that a severe snowstorm prevented much of the orchestra from arriving at the Academy of Music.[6][7]
Sawallisch is regarded by some listeners as one of the greatest of all Bruckner conductors, because his matter-of-fact style
and steady tempi suit that composer especialy well. Typical was a review by Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times on 15 January
2004, titled "Channeling Bruckner, Maestro Illuminates Illusive Score." Tommasini noted that, "the sprawling Finale, which can
easily come across as rambling, sounded organic and inevitable." He said, "It was as if he were not just performing the symphony
but also channeling Bruckner," and similar descriptions have been given of Sawallisch's other Bruckner performances. In an
October 2003 interview with Jakob Buhre at the German website planet-interview-de, Sawallisch was asked (here translated) "And
your relationship to Bruckner's works?" He replied describing Bruckner's "heavenly expanses," and speaking of "my love for
Bruckner."
Recording highlights
His other recordings for EMI include highly regarded issues of Richard Strauss' Capriccio and the four symphonies of Robert
Schumann with the Dresden Staatskapelle. He made a
quadrophonic stereo album (probably the only one ever made) of Mozart's
The Magic Flute in 1973 for EMI, starring Peter Schreier as Tamino, Walter Berry as Papageno,
Edda Moser as the Queen of the Night, Anneliese
Rothenberger as Pamina, and Kurt Moll as Sarastro. Other recordings (EMI, Orfeo and
Sony) include:
- Ludwig van Beethoven's nine symphonies with the Royal Concertgebouw,
Amsterdam
- Johannes Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and
Choir
- Johannes Brahms' Symphonies Nos. 1-4 with the London Philharmonic
- Anton Bruckner' Symphonies 1, 4, 5, 6 & 9
- Antonín Dvořák's Symphonies Nos. 7-9 and Cello Concerto with The Philadelphia
Orchestra
- Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic and Dusseldorf Chorus
- Franz Schubert's Sacred Choral Works with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
- Richard Strauss' Intermezzo, Elektra, Friedenstag and Die
Frau ohne Schatten, Arabella with the Bavarian State Opera
- Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Symphonia domestica, and Also sprach Zarathustra with the Philadelphia
Orchestra
- Richard Strauss' Horn Concertos, with Dennis Brain and the Philharmonia
- Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth (live recording, Salzburg Festival)
- Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, Die Meistersinger von
Nürnberg, Die Feen with the Bavarian State Opera; The Flying Dutchman and Lohengrin (Bayreuth Festival)
- Richard Wagner's Wesendock Lieder with Marjana Lipovsek and The Philadelphia Orchestra
One of his final concert and recording projects in Philadelphia focused on the music of Robert Schumann.[8]
References
- ^ Stephen Moss. "Old school titan",
The Guardian, 19 May 2000. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ Anthony Tommasini. "Channeling Bruckner, Maestro Illuminates Elusive Score", The New York Times, 15 Jan 2004. Retrieved on
2007-08-08.
- ^ Peter Dobrin. "At home with the maestro", Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 Aug 2006. Retrieved on
2007-08-08.
- ^ Edward Rothstein. "A
Cheery, Old-World 'Ariadne'", New York Times, 17 May 1995. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ Anne Midgette. "Music: A Musical Capital Looks to America", New York Times, 5 Aug 2001. Retrieved
on 2007-08-08.
- ^ Lesley Valdes and Peter Dobrin. "Snow or no snow, the show went on",
Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 Feb 1994.
- ^ Tom Di Nardo. "Bons mots instead of notes from Maestro",
Philadelphia Daily News, 28 Feb 1994.
- ^ Allan Kozinn. "Back to
Schumann, With Care and Passion", The New York Times, 19 Oct 2002. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
