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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Strauss: Lieder
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 okt. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Double Concerto, Op. 102 & Horn Trio, Op. 40
Frank Peter Zimmermann, Heinrich Schiff, Marie-Luise Neunecker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 14 okt. 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
Klassiek - Released by Urania Records on 1 mei 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lieder - Ballades
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 3 sep. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Scherzo capriccioso, Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 "From the New World"
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 21 jul. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stokowski: Toccata und Fuge
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 17 mei 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert Masses
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Lucia Popp, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Schreier
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Mein Vaterland
Klassiek - Released by RCA Red Seal on 30 aug. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ouvertures - Marches - Symphonie en mi majeur - Siegfried Idyll
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 10 mrt. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Dichterliebe / Prokofiev: 3 Children's Songs etc
Peter Schreier, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 6 mrt. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Sawallisch Conducts Brahms
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Wiener Symphoniker
Klassiek - Released by G.O.P. on 13 okt. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Le vaisseau fantôme, sélection (Live, Stereo Version)
Anja Silja, Franz Grass, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Bayreuther Festspielorchester
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Günter Raphael: Entrée
Wolfgang Sawallisch, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Klassiek - Released by Querstand on 8 mei 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La flûte enchantée, KV 620
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1973
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Sacred & Secular Choral Works
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 25 jul. 2011
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concertos pour piano Nos. 21 & 22
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Annie Fischer, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 10 mei 1993
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Centenary Album
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 25 aug. 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lieder von Franz Schubert - Lied-Edition Vol. 2
Hermann Prey, Karl Engel, Gerald Moore, Leonard Hokanson, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassiek - Released by Decca on 1 jan. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 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 26 mrt. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sarah Chang - Paganini & Saint-Saens Violin Concertos
Sarah Chang, Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Klassiek - Released by Angel Records on 1 jan. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carl Orff: Der Mond / Die Kluge
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo