Wolfgang Sawallisch
 | Template:Wikify is deprecated. Please use a more specific cleanup template as listed in the documentation. |
Wolfgang Sawallisch (born August 26, 1923) is a German conductor and pianist.
Biography
He was born in Munich, and began his career at the opera house in Augsburg in 1947[1].
In 1953 he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 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 Orchestra, 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.
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.
Recording highlights
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].
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 Orchestra, Amsterdam
- Johannes Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Choir
- Johannes Brahms' Symphonies Nos. 1-4 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Antonín Dvořák's Symphonies Nos. 7-9 and Cello Concerto with The Philadelphia Orchestra
- Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 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 Orchestra
- 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][9][10][11].
References
- ^ Stephen Moss, "Old school titan". The Guardian, 19 May 2000.
- ^ Anthony Tommasini, "Channeling Bruckner, Maestro Illuminates Elusive Score". New York Times, 15 January 2004.
- ^ Peter Dobrin, "At home with the maestro". Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 August, 2006
- ^ Edward Rothstein, "A Cheery, Old-World 'Ariadne'". New York Times, 17 May, 1995.
- ^ Anne Midgette, "Music: A Musical Capital Looks to America". New York Times, 5 August 2001.
- ^ Lesley Valdes and Peter Dobrin, "Snow or no snow, the show went on: a portrait of the Maestro as an impromptu concert pianist." Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 February 1994.
- ^ Tom Di Nardo, "Bons mots instead of notes from Maestro". Philadelphia Daily News, 28 February 1994.
- ^ Allan Kozinn, "Back to Schumann, With Care and Passion". New York Times, 19 October 2002.
- ^ Bernard Holland, "A Window Onto Schumann's Final Period". New York Times, 30 January 2003.
- ^ Anthony Tommasini, "A Vivid and Yet Draining Appearance by Sawallisch". New York Times, 2 May 2003.
- ^ Andrew Clements, review of Schumann: Symphonies Nos 1-4 et al. recordings with The Philadelphia Orchestra. The Guardian, 25 July 2003.