Wolfgang Sawallisch facts for kids
Wolfgang Sawallisch (born August 26, 1923 – died February 22, 2013) was a famous German conductor and pianist. He was known for leading many orchestras and opera performances around the world.
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Wolfgang Sawallisch's Life Story
Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, Germany. His parents were Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. He had an older brother named Werner. Wolfgang finished high school in Munich in 1942.
He started playing the piano when he was just five years old. By the time he was ten, he knew he wanted to be a concert pianist. Famous musicians like Richard Strauss and Hans Knappertsbusch greatly inspired him when he was a child. His family, especially his mother, strongly supported his musical studies. He studied piano and composition privately.
His musical journey was paused during World War II. He served in the German army in France and Italy. Towards the end of the war, he was held in a British prisoner-of-war camp in Italy.
After the war, he returned to Munich. He continued his music studies and passed his state exam in 1946. He also took lessons to become a conductor. His first job was at the Stadttheater Augsburg. Around this time, he married a singer named Mechthild Schmid. She was a big influence on his life. Wolfgang adopted Mechthild's son, Jörg, from her first marriage, and they became a family. Mechthild chose to focus on supporting Wolfgang's career. They were married for 46 years until she passed away in 1998.
In 2003, the Wolfgang Sawallisch Foundation was started in Grassau, Bavaria, Germany. This foundation includes a music school. Wolfgang Sawallisch was seen in public for the last time at a concert in February 2013. He passed away in Grassau in February 2013, at the age of 89. He had lived there for over 50 years and was buried there. His son Jörg passed away just one month before him.
The villa where Wolfgang Sawallisch lived for many years in Grassau is now part of the Sawallisch Foundation. It is sometimes used for concerts by the Grassau Music School.
His Amazing Career
Wolfgang Sawallisch began his professional career in 1947 at the opera house in Augsburg. He started as a coach for singers and later became the main conductor. In 1949, he won first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition while playing piano for a violinist. From 1952 to 1953, he was an assistant to conductor Igor Markevitch in Salzburg, Austria.
He was only 30 years old when he conducted the famous Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1957, he made his debut at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, conducting the opera Tristan und Isolde. He was the youngest conductor ever to perform there.
Wolfgang Sawallisch turned down offers from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York Metropolitan Opera. Instead, he became the Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony in 1960, a position he held for ten years. He also conducted the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg for ten years, starting in 1961. From 1970 to 1980, he was the music director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
From 1971 to 1992, he was the music director of the Bavarian State Opera. For some of those years, he was also its general manager, overseeing everything. He worked closely with musical events in Munich for thirty years. There, he conducted almost all of Richard Strauss's major operas. He also conducted 32 full cycles of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. He led nearly 1200 opera performances in Munich alone!
In 1966, Eugene Ormandy invited Sawallisch to the Philadelphia Orchestra. Sawallisch made several recordings there. In 1993, he became the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, staying until 2003. After that, he was given the special title of Conductor Laureate until his death. He was also an Honorary Conductor Laureate of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, where he performed every year for over 30 years. He received the Suntory Music Award in 1993 for his contributions to music.
Later Years and Retirement
After his time with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Sawallisch continued to conduct as a guest in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall. However, health problems made it difficult for him to conduct in later years. In 2006, he announced his retirement, saying that his blood pressure was sometimes too low, which made it necessary for him to stop conducting after 57 years.
In 1988, he wrote his autobiography called "Im Interesse der Deutlichkeit" (For the Sake of Clarity). In this book, he shared his thoughts on what a conductor's job should be.
Special Connections
Wolfgang Sawallisch was an honorary member of The Robert Schumann Society. In 2003, he helped create the Wolfgang Sawallisch Foundation, which includes a music school in Bavaria. He continued to live on his estate in Grassau during his retirement.
His Passing
Wolfgang Sawallisch and his wife Mechthild were married for 46 years. Mechthild passed away in 1998. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI), a friend of the family, led her funeral service. Wolfgang had adopted Mechthild's son, Jörg. Jörg passed away in January 2013.
Wolfgang Sawallisch died at his home in Grassau, Bavaria on February 22, 2013, when he was 89 years old.
Highlights from His Recordings
Wolfgang Sawallisch made many recordings. For EMI, he recorded Richard Strauss's Capriccio and the four symphonies of Robert Schumann with the Staatskapelle Dresden.
In 1973, he made a special recording of Mozart's The Magic Flute for EMI. A part of this recording, the Queen of the Night aria, was chosen by NASA in 1977 to be included on the Voyager Golden Record. This gold-plated record was sent into space on the Voyager space craft. It contained sounds and images meant to show life and culture on Earth to any possible alien life forms.
Other important recordings by Sawallisch include:
- Ludwig van Beethoven's nine Symphonies with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
- Johannes Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem and his four Symphonies
- Anton Bruckner's Symphonies
- Antonín Dvořák's Requiem, Stabat Mater, and Symphonies Nos. 7–9
- Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute (a video recording)
- Franz Schubert's nine Symphonies and Sacred Choral Works
- Orchestral pieces by Leopold Stokowski
- Many operas by Richard Strauss with the Bavarian State Opera
- Orchestral works by Richard Strauss, including Ein Heldenleben
- Horn Concertos by Richard Strauss
- Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth (a live recording)
- Many operas by Richard Wagner, including Der Ring des Nibelungen, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Der fliegende Holländer
- Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder
- Overtures and two Symphonies by Carl Maria von Weber
His final concerts and recording project in Philadelphia focused on the music of Robert Schumann. These recordings were released in 2003.
Images for kids
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Signature of Wolfgang Sawallisch
See also
In Spanish: Wolfgang Sawallisch para niños
