Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Violinist and sometime conductor Wolfgang Schneiderhan was a highly versatile artist, just as much at home in the music of Hans Werner Henze as in Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert, even if he is best known for his playing of the last-named group of composers. Never quite a household name, he was nevertheless active in every aspect of Austria's music scene and was widely admired for the depth of his interpretive abilities.
Born in Vienna on May 28, 1915, Schneiderhan was taught violin by his mother from age three and gave his first concert at five. In 1926, in Copenhagen, he played Mendelssohn's violin concerto, and he subsequently toured Europe, hailed as a prodigy. However, the fast-money life of a touring virtuoso demoralized the young violinist, and he turned his career in a new direction: with the help of a recommendation from an aristocratic patroness, he became concertmaster of the new Vienna Symphony at 17. Four years later, he moved on to the same post with the Vienna Philharmonic, where he served under the great conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler and Hans Knappertsbusch. That year, he also formed the Schneiderhan Quartett. In the 1940s, he performed duo sonatas with Wilhelm Backhaus and other top-rank soloists, and he formed a trio with pianist Edwin Fischer and cellist Enrico Mainardi in 1948. He married Irmgard Seefried that year and often performed with her as well over their 40-year marriage.
Schneiderhan's solo career took off once again when he resigned his Philharmonic concertmaster post in 1949, at age 34. For many years, he ruled the roost among Deutsche Grammophon's stable of violin soloists. At first, he was identified with the core Viennese Classical repertoire, but he later became interested in contemporary music and explored the works of Henze, Stravinsky, and other composers. He co-founded the Lucerne Festival Strings in 1956 and also taught at the Lucerne Music Academy. In the 1970s, Schneiderhan undertook yet another new career: after studying with Hans Swarowsky, he became active as a conductor. In 1975, he led a performance of Franz Schmidt's Notre Dame at the Vienna Volksoper. Much in demand as a teacher in his later years, Schneiderhan continued to live in Vienna, where he died on May 18, 2002. Since his death, many of his recordings have appeared in archival reissues on such labels as Deutsche Grammophon, BBC Legends, and Orfeo; among these, in 2019, was his recording of Schubert's piano trios with cellist Boris Pergamenschikow and pianist Paul Badura-Skoda.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Similar artists
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Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Cello in a Minor, Op.102
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Janos Starker, Ferenc Fricsay, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Classical - Released by Classically on 10 Jan 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Cello in C Major, Op.56
Geza Anda, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Pierre Fournier, Ferenc Fricsay, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Classical - Released by Classically on 10 Jan 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi, Marcello, Albinoni, Tartini, Galuppi: The Sound of Venice
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Bruno Giuranna, George Malcolm, Felix Ayo
Classical - Released by >ReNovo< on 2 Oct 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Intrada de Piani, Le cygne de Saint-Saëns & Menuet de Nash (Mono Version)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Hans Priegnitz
Chamber Music - Released by BnF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Das Schaffen Johann Sebastian Bachs: Serie K. Instrumentalkonzerte (Mono Version)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Collegium Musicum Zurich, Paul Sacher
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Divertimento pour cor, violon et violoncelle, Hob. IV:5, Nocturnes pour le roi de Naples, Hob. 27, 29 & 30 (Mono Version)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Wiener Kammerorchester, Franz Litschauer
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Das italienische Settecento: Serie A. Das Konzert (Stereo Version)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Claude Starck, Eduard Kaufmann
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Das Schaffen Johann Sebastian Bachs: Serie K. Instrumentalkonzerte (Stereo Version)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Helmut Winschermann, Cesare Esposito
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concerto pour violon No. 5 (Mono Version)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Ferdinand Leitner, Wiener Symphoniker
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 (Mono Version)
Bamberger Symphoniker, Ferdinand Leitner, Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concertos pour violon Nos. 4 & 5 (Mono Version)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Berliner Philharmoniker, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates pour pour piano et violon No. 7, Op. 30 No. 2 & No. 10, Op. 96 (Mono Version)
Wilhelm Kempff, Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Violin Concerto; Violin Sonata No. 2 (Karel Ančerl Edition, Vol. 7)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Carl Seemann, Berliner Philharmoniker, Karel Ancerl
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4, Violin Concerto No. 5 (Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt Edition 2, Vol. 9)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Berliner Philharmoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Große Fuge
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker
Symphonic Music - Released by Infinity on 4 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Greatest Concerto Collection
Classical - Released by Classique Perfecto on 23 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, "Spring Sonata"
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Wilhelm Kempff
Classical - Released by Vienna Classics Records on 1 Nov 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Schneiderhan / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Eugen Jochum play: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violinkonzert, KV 218
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Concertos - Released by Classico Ivano on 30 Jan 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Schneiderhan / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks play: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violinkonzert
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Concertos - Released by Classico Ivano on 24 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martin, F.: Petite Symphonie Concertante / Violin Concerto (Desarzens, Schneiderhan, Ansermet) (1950, 1954)
Orchestre De Chambre De Lausanne, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Victor Desarzens, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
3. Klavierkonzert C Minor Op. 37 - Largo
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Staatskapelle Dresden, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Profil Edition Guenter Haenssler on 15 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo