Hans Swarowsky
Known as widely for his teaching as for his orchestral direction, Hans Swarowsky had much to share with a younger generation of musicians. He studied composition and conducting with several of the twentieth century's greatest icons, absorbing and exercising what he had learned in a respected career as a conductor. Despite an uneven cast, his recording of Wagner's Ring cycle, taped in Prague, has considerable power and poetry.
Born in Hungary, Swarowsky studied in Vienna with composers Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern and trained in conducting with Felix Weingartner, Richard Strauss, and Clemens Krauss. His engagements subsequently took him to many parts of Europe, first to Stuttgart and Hamburg, later to Berlin (1934), Zürich (1937-1940), and Krakow (1944-1946).
Following several harrowing experiences in flight from the Nazis, Swarowsky found his career stabilized once more in the postwar period with an engagement at Graz from 1947-1950. During this time and in subsequent assignments at the Wiener Staatsoper, Swarowsky was recognized as a conductor with a long measure of technical expertise. Thus, his classes at Vienna's Academy of Music and the Performing Arts, where he had been professor of conducting since 1946, drew a remarkable pool of aspiring young musicians. Among them were Claudio Abbado, Jesús López-Cobos, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Giuseppe Sinopoli, and Bruno Weil, later to be among the most prominent of their generation. Vienna's Hans Swarowsky International Conductors' Competition has attracted musicians from all parts of the globe, becoming in the process one of the world's most important clearing houses for rising talent.
From 1957 to 1959, Swarowsky served as chief conductor of the Scottish National Orchestra. In 1959, he was appointed chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra; together with his service to that ensemble, he continued to appear with the Wiener Staatsoper.
In addition to performing compositions from the Classical and Romantic periods, Swarowsky served his own age with diligence. Aside from Strauss and Webern, composers such as Britten, Einem, Hindemith, Pfitzner, and Stravinsky figured prominently in the conductor's programming. Among his recordings for Concert Hall, Erato, Nonesuch, Vanguard, Vox, and Weltbild, he committed to disc an especially delightful set of orchestral suites from Humperdinck operas.
© TiVo
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Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Major, Hob. VIIe:1 / Overture No. 4 in D Major Hob. Ia:4
Classical - Released by Mezzoforte on Jan 18, 2019
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Ivry Gitlis
Ivry Gitlis, Wiener Symphoniker, Heinrich Hollreiser, Jascha Horenstein, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by Vox Legends on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 – Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
Ivry Gitlis, Pro Musica Symphony, Vienna, Hans Swarowsky, Jascha Horenstein
Classical - Released by Artemisia on Apr 16, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Humperdinck - Sleeping Beauty - Excerpts From 'Kings Children' - Fantasy On A Theme From 'Hansel And Gretel'
Engelbert Humperdinck, Hans Swarowsky, Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen - Complete
Grosses Symphonieorchster, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov & Liszt: Piano Concertos
Paul Badura-Skoda, London Promenade Orchestra, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, Artur Rodzinski, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by Gramola Records on Mar 17, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikowsky: Symphony No. 2 "Little Russian" & Symphony No. 3 "Polish"
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by HORTUS on Jan 18, 1991
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Humperdinck: Tone Picture from Sleeping Beauty
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by Tuxedo on Sep 7, 1990
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Diabelli Variations - Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 & 4 Impromptus
Mieczysław Horszowski, Wiener Symphoniker, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by Vox Legends on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17 “Little Russian”
Hans Swarowsky, Vienna Philharmusica Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Mezzoforte on Apr 5, 2019
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 2 'Little Russian' - Symphony No. 3 'Polish'
Hans Swarowsky, Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski, Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: Noches en los jardines de España
Orquesta Sinfónica Pro-Música de Viena, Hans Swarowsky, Guiomar Novaes
Classical - Released by MARFER on Sep 30, 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen
Grosses Symphonieorchster, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music from Watchmen
Ultimate Heroes, Grosses Symphony Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky
Pop - Released by Vanilla OMP on Apr 15, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sinfonía No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
Orquesta Sinfonica De Viena, Hans Swarowsky
Miscellaneous - Released by MARFER on Jul 13, 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (Menuetto Kids - Classical Music for Children)
Pro Musica Orchestra Vienna, Hans Swarowsky, Brandon De Wilde
Classical - Released by Menuetto Classics on Nov 20, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sinfonia No. 5 en C Minor, Op. 67
Orquesta Sinfónica de Hamburgo, Hans Swarowsky
Miscellaneous - Released by MARFER on Apr 13, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns, Liszt: Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" and Symphonic Poem No. 9 "Hungaria"
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky, Josef Nebois
Classical - Released by HORTUS on Jan 4, 1991
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Grosses Symphonieorchster, Dadezda Kniplova, Gerald McKey, Rolf Polke, Hans Swarowsky, Fritz Uhl
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201
Bamberg Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky
Classical - Released by Red Note OMP on May 17, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo