Otmar Suitner
Otmar Suitner was archetypical of the type of Central European conductor who comes up through the ranks (i.e., opera house, theater, or if an instrumentalist, house orchestra) and worked his way up to leadership by dint of musicality. Some move on to what is essentially international "stardom," such as the case with Karajan or Klemperer. Others settle into a localized niche, but extend their reputation past national boundaries via recording prowess, often through a varied series of ensembles. In this manner, Suitner's star ascended, the dawn of the digital era being a boon to his recognition even though he ceased conducting in the 1990s due to illness.
Otmar Suitner was born in the picturesque backdrop of the Tyrol. His father was a native and his mother was Italian, who most likely nourished his affinity for opera. In his teens, Suitner began piano studies under Weidlich at the Innsbruck Conservatory and continued the same under Ledwinka at the Salzburg Mozarteum from 1940-1942, also studying conducting with Clemens Krauss at that institution. Upon completion of studies, the young man became Kapellmeister at the Innsbruck Theatre and moved through a number of both opera and orchestra positions, including Remscheid (1952), Ludwigshaven (1957), the Rhineland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra (1957) the Dresden State Opera (1960-1964), and the Berlin State Opera (1964-1971, continuing 1973-1990). He became a fixture at Bayreuth, working closely with Wieland Wagner on the 1965 Der fliegende Holländer and the Ring cycle for 1966 and 1967. In opera, he distinguished himself in Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss, bringing to those composers a litheness and protean energy not usually associated with the Austro-German school of interpretation. His predilection for lightness can be divined from his arrangement of Der Rosenkavalier for small orchestra performance. No complacent traditionalist, Suitner was also a fervent advocate of Dessau, conducting the premieres of that composer's operas Puntila (1966), Einstein (1973), and Leonce und Lena (1979). In 1969, he became a guest conductor with the San Francisco Opera Company and in the following decade was a frequent podium visitor in Japan, receiving honorary conductorship of the Tokyo NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1973.
The Japanese connection was to stand Suitner in good stead with the emergence of digital recording in the early 1980s. His set of the Beethoven symphonies with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra for Denon was one of the very first sets of the nine to appear. Soon, Suitner was one of the digital pioneers and joined the ranks of conductors who had built a cult by dint of quality recordings, much like Rosbaud, Kegel, Wand, and others. Unfortunately, illness stayed Suitner's hand in the early 1990s and he made a premature retirement from performing and recording. Nonetheless, he retained his devotees and his 80th birthday saw the issue of an 11-CD set on the Edel label representative of his operatic and symphonic artistry.
© TiVo
Similar artists
-
LANNER, J.: Waltzes - Opp. 161, 165, 200 / STRAUSS, Josef: Polkas - Opp. 57, 133, 166, 204, 245, 269 (Dresden Staatskapelle, Suitner)
Otmar Suitner, Staatskapelle Dresden
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on Feb. 19, 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphony No. 33 / A Musical Joke
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Opera Highlights (Suitner conducts Mozart)
Classical - Released by Berlin Classics on Nov. 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
REGER, M.: Ballettsuite (Eine) / Konzert im alten Stil / Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven (Berlin Staatskapelle, Suitner)
Classical - Released by Berlin Classics on Jan. 22, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SMETANA, B.: Prodana nevesta (The Bartered Bride) [Opera] (Highlights) (Sung in German) (Suitner)
Otmar Suitner, Staatskapelle Dresden & Dresden State Opera Chorus
Opera - Released by Berlin Classics on May 3, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART, W.A.: Concert Arias (Geszty, Dresden Staatskapelle, Suitner)
Sylvia Geszty, Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Denon Max Value. Beethoven: Symphonies No. 3 & 5
Ludwig van Beethoven, Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Denon on Jul. 28, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chöre aus deutschen Opern
Chor der Staatsoper Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Opera - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Die verkaufte Braut (Highlights)
Staatskapelle Dresden, Chor der Staatsoper Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Opera - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Sinfonie No. 2
Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MAHLER, G.: Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection" (Hajossyova, Priew, Berlin State Opera Chorus, Berlin Staatskapelle, Suitner)
Otmar Suitner, Chor der Staatsoper Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin
Classical - Released by Eterna on Jan. 22, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
STRAUSS, R.: Salome [Opera] (Suitner)
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Full Operas - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SCHUBERT, F.: Alfonso und Estrella [Opera] (Suitner)
Staatskapelle Berlin, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Peter Schreier, Hermann Prey, Theo Adam, Otmar Suitner
Full Operas - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Peer-Gynt, Suites Nos: 1& 2
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Sinfonie No. 30 / Pariser Sinfonie
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on Sep. 10, 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Così fan tutte (Sung in Italian)
Staatskapelle Berlin, Chor der Staatsoper Berlin, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Otmar Suitner
Full Operas - Released by Eterna on Oct. 22, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART, W.A.: Opera Arias (Adam)
Theo Adam, Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Opera - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
DESSAU, P.: Leonce und Lena [Opera] (Suitner)
Staatskapelle Berlin, Chor der Staatsoper Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Full Operas - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Sinfonien No. 39 & 40
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on Jan. 1, 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WOLF, H.: Penthesilea / PFITZNER, H.: Das Kathchen von Heilbronn / STRAUSS, R.: Fantasy (Berlin Staatskapelle, Suitner)
Classical - Released by Berlin Classics on Jan. 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
Classical - Released by RCA Classics on Aug. 31, 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo