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
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Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 3 & No. 6
Franz Schubert, Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Denon on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART, W.A.: Nozze di Figaro (Le) (The Marriage of Figaro) (Sung in German) [Opera] (Suitner)
Full Operas - Released by Berlin Classics on 1 Jan 1969
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
Classical - Released by Eterna on 6 Jan 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Sinfonie No. 2 (Auferstehungssinfonie)
Staatskapelle Berlin, Chor der Staatsoper Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1985
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Sinfonie No. 1
Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on 6 Aug 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Fünf Lieder nach Friedrich Rückert / Vier Lieder aus "Des Knaben Wunderhorn"
Siegfried Lorenz, Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner, Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester, Günther Herbig
Classical - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1984
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chöre aus italienischen und französischen Opern (Giuseppe Verdi - Arrigo Boito - Temistocle Solera)
Staatskapelle Berlin, Chor der Staatsoper Berlin, Philharmonischer Kinderchor Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Opera - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Va Pensiero
Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 13 Jul 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Prager Sinfonie / Jupiter-Sinfonie
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WAGNER, R.: Opera Arias (Kollo)
René Kollo, Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Opera - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1975
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Peter Schreier sings Mozart Arias
Peter Schreier, Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Miscellaneous - Released by Berlin Classics on 1 Jan 1989
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Pariser Sinfonie / Prager Sinfonie
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opera Overtures, Choruses and Duets
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 22 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies No. 6 & 8
Classical - Released by Denon on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner, Dresdner Kreuzchor, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam
Opera - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART, W.A.: Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (Die) [Opera] (Suitner)
Otmar Suitner, Dresden Staatskapelle
Full Operas - Released by Berlin Classics on 3 Sep 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weber: Ouvertüren
Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1976
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART, W.A.: Nozze di Figaro (Le) (The Marriage of Figaro) [Opera] (Suitner)
Staatskapelle Dresden, Chor der Staatsoper Dresden, Peter Schreier, Otmar Suitner
Full Operas - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphony No. 4 / In Nature's Realm
Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Symphonic Music - Released by Eterna on 1 Jan 1982
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tschaikowski & Volkmann: Serenaden für Streichorchester
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner
Classical - Released by Eterna on 22 Sep 1969
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo