Thomas Friedli
Encyclopedia
Thomas Friedli was an internationally renowned Swiss
clarinetist. He died in 2008 in Madeira
.
) before winning 1st Prize and "Prix Ernest Ansermet
" at the Geneva International Music Competition
in 1972 (he would be Jury President of the same competition in 2007). He was from 1971 to 1986 principal clarinetist of the Berner Symphonie-Orchester
and then occupied the same post in the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne
.
Performing worldwide, he appeared at festivals in Lucerne
, Ibiza, Stresa, Gstaad
, Bratislava or São Paulo to name a few. He premiered numerous pieces by composers such as Franz Tischhauser or Sándor Veress
and received a "Gold Record" from Claves for his recording of the Mozart concerto in A.
Besides his activity as a soloist and principal clarinetist, Thomas Friedli was also an accomplished chamber musician and was interested in the big repertoire from the Classical and Romantic periods as well as in contemporary music, while he had a particular preference for bringing neglected works to life. A dedicated teacher, he participated in numerous master classes and led since 1978 a professional performer's class at Conservatoire de Genève until his accidental death in 2008.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
clarinetist. He died in 2008 in Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
Biography
Thomas Friedli studied in Bern, Lausanne and Paris (with Jacques LancelotJacques Lancelot
Jacques Lancelot born in Rouen France in 1920He studied at the conservatory of Caen with Fernand Blachet, and at the Paris conservatory with Auguste Périer et Fernand Oubradous were he graduated in 1939, and is considered an exponent of the traditional French Clarinet School with a clear and...
) before winning 1st Prize and "Prix Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet was a Swiss conductor.- Biography :Ansermet was born in Vevey, Switzerland. Although he was a contemporary of Wilhelm Furtwängler and Otto Klemperer, Ansermet represents in most ways a very different tradition and approach from those two musicians. Originally he was a...
" at the Geneva International Music Competition
Geneva International Music Competition
The Geneva International Music Competition is a music competitions held in Geneva, founded in 1939 in the Geneva Conservatory for a wide variety of instruments, voice, conducting, and chamber music.-See also:* List of classical music competitions* World Federation of International Music...
in 1972 (he would be Jury President of the same competition in 2007). He was from 1971 to 1986 principal clarinetist of the Berner Symphonie-Orchester
Berner Symphonie-Orchester
The Berner Symphonie-Orchester is one of Switzerland's major orchestras and consists of about 100 musicians. It was founded in 1877 in the capital Bern....
and then occupied the same post in the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne
The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Lausanne, Switzerland.The violinist and conductor Victor Desarzens founded the orchestra in 1942, and served as its first artistic director for 30 years...
.
Performing worldwide, he appeared at festivals in Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Ibiza, Stresa, Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
, Bratislava or São Paulo to name a few. He premiered numerous pieces by composers such as Franz Tischhauser or Sándor Veress
Sándor Veress
Sándor Veress was a Swiss composer of Hungarian origin. The first half of his life was spent in Hungary; the second, from 1949 until his death, in Switzerland, of which he became a citizen in the last months of his life.Veress taught at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest...
and received a "Gold Record" from Claves for his recording of the Mozart concerto in A.
Besides his activity as a soloist and principal clarinetist, Thomas Friedli was also an accomplished chamber musician and was interested in the big repertoire from the Classical and Romantic periods as well as in contemporary music, while he had a particular preference for bringing neglected works to life. A dedicated teacher, he participated in numerous master classes and led since 1978 a professional performer's class at Conservatoire de Genève until his accidental death in 2008.
Discography
- Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
: Clarinet concerto in A major, KV. 622 (Claves) - Alexander von ZemlinskyAlexander von ZemlinskyAlexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...
- Max BruchMax BruchMax Christian Friedrich Bruch , also known as Max Karl August Bruch, was a German Romantic composer and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin repertoire.-Life:Bruch was born in Cologne, Rhine Province, where he...
: (Claves) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
: Clarinet quintet in B minor, op. 115 (Claves) - Robert SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
: (Claves) - Franz KrommerFranz KrommerFranz Krommer was a Czech composer of classical music, whose seventy-year life began the year of the death of George Frideric Handel and ended a few years after that of Ludwig van Beethoven.-Life:The main events of his life were somewhat as follows:* From 1773 to 1776,...
- Schnyder von Wartensee : Sinfonia concertante op. 80 - Concerto for two clarinets (Claves) - Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
- Duetto Concertino with Klaus ThunemannKlaus ThunemannKlaus Thunemann is a German bassoonist.Klaus Thunemann was born in Magdeburg, Germany. He originally studied piano but from the age of 18 focused on the bassoon. He was a student at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he studied under Willy Fugmann...
External links
- http://www.amsion.ch/e/professeurs/friedli.asp
- http://www.scenesmagazine.com/spip.php?article438
- Interview with Thomas Friedli (Spanish)