Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch was a German conductor and pianist, known for his refined interpretations of orchestral and opera repertoire. As a pianist, he was a revered accompanist and chamber musician, as well as an accomplished soloist. He was born in 1923 in Munich to Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch, and had a brother named Werner who was older by five years. He started learning the piano at age five, and by the age of ten he had already decided that he wanted to be a concert pianist as an adult. Upon graduating high school in Munich in 1942, he studied piano with Wolfgang Ruoff until he was drafted into the military, where he served in France and Italy with the Wehrmacht, a branch of the Nazi armed forces. During the final stages of World War II in 1945 he was captured and held in a British POW camp. After he was released, he returned to Munich and began studying with composer Joseph Haas. In 1946 Sawallisch graduated from the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Munich, testing out after only a single semester. The following year he began his first professional appointment as répétiteur, and eventually chorus master at the Augsburg Opera Theater. He was also studying conducting with Hans Rosbaud and Igor Markevitch at the time, and performing as an accompanist with violinist Gerhard Seitz, with whom he won the Geneva International Competition in 1949. It was also around this time when he married his wife Mechthild Schmid, who was a singer. They had known each other since childhood, when Sawallisch performed as her accompanist. Sawallisch's reputation as a conductor was growing, and with that came guest conducting assignments from German orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1953. Over the next ten years, he held Music Director positions in Aachen, and then Wiesbaden, and finally in Cologne where he also taught at the Conservatory. In 1957 he became the youngest conductor to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival, opening with Tristan und Isolde. That same year he also had two debut performances in London that included a recital where he accompanied Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and he conducted the Philharmonia. Throughout the 1960s he simultaneously held principal conductor appointments at both the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and the Hamburg State Philharmonic. Additionally, he first appeared as guest conductor in Japan with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1964, where he would annually return to conduct for over 30 years. Again in the 1970s Sawallisch maintains simultaneous directorship positions, with L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Bavarian State Opera. Throughout his tenure in Munich, he conducted a staggering 1200 opera performances, and also the complete Wagner Ring des Nibelungen cycle 32 times. His appearance in 1984 as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra would prove to be important, as he eventually returned in 1993 to take over the position as Music Director, succeeding Riccardo Muti. In his first year, they toured Japan, China, and made an appearance in Vietnam. He held this position until 2003, and eventually retired from conducting due to a health condition. However, he continued his affiliation with the Philadelphia Orchestra as Conductor Laureate until his death in 2013.
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Brahms: Double Concerto, Op. 102 & Horn Trio, Op. 40
Frank Peter Zimmermann, Heinrich Schiff, Marie-Luise Neunecker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct 14, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 & Overture in the Italian Style, D. 591
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Staatskapelle Dresden
Classical - Released by Urania Records on May 1, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lieder - Ballades
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Gerald Moore
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Sep 3, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Scherzo capriccioso, Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 "From the New World"
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jul 21, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stokowski: Toccata und Fuge
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on May 17, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert Masses
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Lucia Popp, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Schreier
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Furtwängler: Symphony No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor (Live)
Bayerisches Staatsorchester , Wolfgang Sawallisch
Classical - Released by Orfeo on Jan 1, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Mein Vaterland
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Aug 30, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Sawallisch Conducts Brahms
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Wiener Symphoniker
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on Oct 13, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La flûte enchantée, KV 620
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1973
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concertos pour piano Nos. 21 & 22
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Annie Fischer, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on May 10, 1993
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Centenary Album
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 25, 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Great Singers Live: Hermann Prey (Remastered 2012) (Live)
Hermann Prey, Munich Radio Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Argeo Quadri
Opera - Released by BR-Klassik on Mar 26, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sarah Chang - Paganini & Saint-Saens Violin Concertos
Sarah Chang, Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Classical - Released by Angel Records on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carl Orff: Der Mond / Die Kluge
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Sep 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: The Symphonies
Wiener Symphoniker, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss : Capriccio
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Sep 16, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Violin Concerto
Sarah Chang, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Classical - Released by Angel Records on Nov 15, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Winterreise
Thomas Hampson, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, The 4 Symphonies, Overtures and Choral Works by Wolfgang Sawallisch (2023 Remastered)
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Wiener Symphoniker, Wiener Singverein
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Sep 26, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo