Franz Konwitschny
Franz Konwitschny was born to a family consisting of several members who were professional musicians. He studied at Brno's German Musical Society and later at Leipzig Conservatory. While still a student, he was exposed to great conducting as a member of the viola section of the famous Gewandhausorchester Leipzig when he played under the direction of Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1925, he moved to Vienna with the Fitzner Quartet and began teaching at the Vienna Volkskonservatorium. Within two years, he had decided to become a conductor. In 1927, he joined the Stuttgart Opera, first as an assistant conductor then winning promotion to chief conductor in 1930. Engagements at Freiburg, Frankfort, and Hanover occupied him until 1949 when he was awarded the helm of the venerable Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. From 1949 until his death on tour in 1962, he held that position even as opera house appointments (Dresden 1953 to 1955, and the Berliner Staatsoper from 1955 onward) occupied increasing amounts of time. His dual positions made him one of the Eastern bloc's most authoritative and celebrated musicians. In the years shortly before his death, Konwitschny appeared abroad in such venues as Salzburg and London and toured elsewhere in Austria, West Germany, Poland, Soviet Russia, and Japan. As an interpreter, he eschewed the precise attacks expected of Western conductors in favor of deeper tone coloring and a spontaneous search for meaning. For EMI, his recordings of Der fliegende Holländer and Tannhäuser are compelling, despite casting deficiencies in both title roles.
Franz Konwitschny was a yeoman conductor. Not a stellar podium personality, but a musician who respected the need for craftsmanship and still managed to probe deeply into the scores that held greatest meaning to him. While the music of his own time appealed to him less than the masterworks of the Classical and Romantic ages, he still made time for the works of such composers as Dessau and Eisler. Konwitschny's early death came as a blow to an art form that needed individuals of such gifts and such devotion to high purpose. The majority of Konwitschny's recordings were made for the East German branch of Philips, and the company's successor, Berlin Classics, honored his memory with the release of an 11-CD box set of his performances in 2001.
© TiVo
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The Great Conductors: Franz Konwitschny Conducts Beethoven (Remastered 2018)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on 9 Mar 2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Tannhaüser (Dresden Version, Mono Version)
Elisabeth Grümmer, Hans Hopf, Staatskapelle Berlin, Franz Konwitschny
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Concerto pour piano No. 1 (Mono Version)
Wilhelm Kempff, Franz Konwitschny, Staatskapelle Dresden
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonie No. 3 "Héroïque" (Mono Version)
Franz Konwitschny, Dresdner Philharmonie
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonie No. 41 "Jupiter" (Mono Version)
Franz Konwitschny, Dresdner Philharmonie
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonie No. 9, D. 944 (Mono Version)
Česká filharmonie, Franz Konwitschny
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sinfonie No. 4
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Wagner : Die Walküre (London 1959)
The Covent Garden Orchestra, Franz Konwitschny, Astrid Varnay
Opera - Released by OperaPrima-Carillon on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Wagner : Tristan und Isolde
Opera - Released by OperaPrima-Carillon on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tristan und Isolde
Opera - Released by Preiser Records on 20 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Franz Konwitschny
Symphonic Music - Released by OBX Records on 19 Jan 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elly Ney plays Brahms & Beethoven
Elly Ney, Franz Konwitschny, Leipziger Gewandhausorchester
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on 23 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gottlob Frick sings arias from: Der fliegende Holländer · Das Rheingold
Gottlob Frick, Franz Konwitschny, Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Staatsoper, Berlin
Opera - Released by G.O.P. on 14 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Hiller-Variationen
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
Classical - Released by Eterna on 5 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
Dieter Zechlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
Classical - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 35
David Oïstrakh, Franz Konwitschny, Staatskapelle Dresden
Classical - Released by Ancien Prodige on 29 Jan 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 77
David Oïstrakh, Franz Konwitschny, Staatskapelle Dresden
Classical - Released by Ancien Prodige on 29 Jan 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Konwitschny with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Vol. 8
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 7 Dec 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More Piano Giants: Wilhelm Kempff, Vol. 9
Wilhelm Kempff, Staatskapelle Dresden, Franz Konwitschny
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 15 Mar 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Konwitschny with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Vol. 5
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 7 Dec 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
Franz Konwitschny, The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Sunday Club Records on 25 Mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo