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.
© RJ Lambert & Joseph Stevenson /TiVo
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Brahms: Symphonie No. 3, Op. 90 & Ouverture tragique, Op. 81 (Mono Version)
Wiener Symphoniker, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Capriccio, Op. 85 (Mono Version)
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Philharmonia Orchestra
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Complete Chamber Music - 3 Piano & Horn
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Johannes Ritzkowsky
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Arts Productions Ltd am 01.01.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Oper - Erschienen bei Andromeda am 03.06.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Complete Chamber Music, Vol. 1 - Music For Piano Quartet
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Ingo Sinnhoffer, Roland Metzger, Peter Wöpke
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Arts Productions Ltd am 01.01.1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto & Symphony No. 7
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Philadelphia Orchestra, Natalia Gutman
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Die Schubert Trilogie
Hermann Prey, Karl Engel, Gerald Moore, Leonard Hokanson, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner - Rienzi (Overture)
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Wiener Symphoniker
Klassik - Erschienen bei West Oak Records am 27.04.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Le vaisseau fantôme, sélections (Live, Stereo Version)
Franz Crass, Anja Silja, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Heinz Tietjen, Max Lorenz, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Quintettes à vent
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Claves Records am 01.01.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Complete Chamber Music - 9 Piano Trios, Clarinet, Cello, Horn
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Sebastian Hess, Anna Kandinskaia
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Arts Productions Ltd am 19.05.1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Winterreise
Hermann Prey, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 16.11.1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphonie No. 9 & Carnaval, Op. 92 (Mono Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 & Variations On a Theme By Haydn (Remastered, Stereo Version)
Wiener Symphoniker, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tristan und Isolde (Intégrale)
Gesamtaufnahmen von Opern - Erschienen bei Myto Historical am 24.02.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Bayreuth 1957)
Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Heinz Tietjen, Max Lorenz, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Birgit Nilsson, Walter Geisler, Grace Hoffmann
Oper - Erschienen bei OperaPrima am 01.01.1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms:Symphony No.1 / R.Strauss:Tod Und Verklarung
Wolfgang Sawallisch, NHK Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Sony Music Labels Inc. am 12.09.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: The Complete Symphonies Vol. 2
Staatskapelle Dresden, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8
Wolfgang Sawallisch, NHK Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Sony Music Labels Inc. am 26.06.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphonie No. 4 & Scherzo capriccioso (Mono Version)
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Philharmonia Orchestra
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Genius of Antonín Dvořák
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Beulah am 07.05.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo