Michael Schnitzler

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Michael Schnitzler (born August 7, 1944 in Berkeley , United States ) is an Austrian musician and conservationist.

Concert violinist and violin professor

Michael Schnitzler was born in California in 1944 to Austrian parents who emigrated in 1938. His father was the actor and director Heinrich Schnitzler , his grandfather was the poet Arthur Schnitzler . In 1959 he moved with his family back to Vienna, where he studied violin at the Music Academy and at the age of 15 he was already playing as a substitute with the Vienna Philharmonic . From 1967 to 1983 he was first concertmaster of the Wiener Symphoniker , and from 1982 until his retirement in 2006 he was full professor for violin at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Since 1965 he has been the violinist of the Haydn Trio Vienna , with whom he undertakes concert tours around the world, made numerous recordings and played a cycle for the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft for 30 years . Michael Schnitzler has played a total of more than 3000 concerts.

Nature lovers and conservationists

Michael Schnitzler's great passion is nature travel. He went on hiking tours in Peru , Canada and Ladakh , climbed Kilimanjaro and Cotopaxi in Ecuador , went on safaris in Africa , dived in the Red Sea , the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean and rafted through the entire Grand Canyon . Travels took him to the Galapagos Islands, Antarctica , Alaska and Greenland . During his travels to several tropical countries his interest in rainforests developed .

In 1989 Schnitzler bought a house on the edge of the rainforest near Golfito in southern Costa Rica with the intention of spending his vacation there. Soon afterwards he became aware of the destruction of the surrounding rainforests and took action. In 1991 the Esquinas rainforest was declared a national park by the Costa Rican government, but this remained without any significant protective effect for the ecosystems, as the areas were privately owned. The areas of the "paper park" gradually became the property of the national park administration, but numerous permits for felling remained in force and the deforestation continued unabated. Michael Schnitzler then founded an association called " Rainforest of the Austrians " with the aim of collecting donations for the purchase and protection of the Esquinas rainforest. Schnitzler is now the owner of the Esquinas Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica.

Awards

literature

  • Jutta Jacobi: The Schnitzlers. A family story. Residence, St. Pölten / Salzburg / Vienna 2014, ISBN 978-3-7017-3279-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rainforest of the Austrians: Rainforest of the Austrians . In: regenwald.at .
  2. ↑ Author: Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, Costa Rica: Check availability and book online . In: esquinaslodge.com .
  3. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF; 6.9 MB)
personal data
SURNAME Schnitzler, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian musician and conservationist
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Berkeley, California , USA