WOLFGANG SAWALLISCH

'Wolfgang Sawallisch' (born August 26, 1923) is a German conductor and pianist.

Contents

Biography

Prominent interpretations

Recording highlights

References

External links

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

1. Old school titan
2. Channeling Bruckner, Maestro Illuminates Elusive Score
3. At home with the maestro
4. A Cheery, Old-World 'Ariadne'
5. Music: A Musical Capital Looks to America
6. Snow or no snow, the show went on
7. ''Bons mots'' instead of notes from Maestro
8. Back to Schumann, With Care and Passion

External links

★

★ Wolfgang Sawallisch at The Remington Site

★ Wolfgang Sawallisch Foundation