Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Eduard Schneiderhan (May 28, 1915May 18, 2002) was an Austria
n classical
violin
ist.
Schneiderhan was born in Vienna
. After briefly studying with Otakar Ševčík
in Pisek
, he studied with Julius Winkler in Vienna. At age 10 he publicly performed Bach
's Chaconne in D minor. The next year he made his debut in Copenhagen
playing the Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto
. He lived in England for some time from 1929, where he appeared in concerts with artists such as Maria Jeritza
, Feodor Chaliapin
, Jan Kiepura
and Paul Robeson
.
He returned to Vienna to become the first Concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
from 1933 to 1937, and from 1937 to 1951 led the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
. He nevertheless maintained his career as a soloist in concerts and recordings.
He was the soloist in the Viennese premiere of Elgar
's Violin Concerto
in 1947.
He formed a string quartet
. After Georg Kulenkampff
's death in 1948, he replaced Kulenkampff in a famous piano trio
with Edwin Fischer
and Enrico Mainardi
.
In September 1952 he made his benchmark Deutsche Grammophon
recordings of all ten Beethoven
violin sonatas with Wilhelm Kempff
in the Konzerthaus, Mozartsaal, Vienna.
He held teaching posts in Salzburg
, Vienna
and Lucerne
. In 1956 he founded the Lucerne Festival Strings
together with Rudolf Baumgartner
. He gave the 1959 premiere of his friend Karl Amadeus Hartmann
's revised Concerto funèbre
.
Schneiderhan was married to the soprano
Irmgard Seefried
from 1948 until her death in 1988; they had three daughters together, including actress Mona Seefried (born 1957). He died in his native Vienna in 2002, aged 86. His nephew, also named Wolfgang Schneiderhan
, was Chief of Staff of the German Bundeswehr
from 2002 to 2009.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist.
Schneiderhan was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. After briefly studying with Otakar Ševčík
Otakar Ševcík
Otakar Ševčík was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe.-Biography:...
in Pisek
Písek
Písek is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 29 909 .-About:Písek is usually called "The Athens of the South", although Athens is much more southerly, because it has many high schools and schools of higher education, e.g. the Film School in Písek...
, he studied with Julius Winkler in Vienna. At age 10 he publicly performed Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Chaconne in D minor. The next year he made his debut in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
playing the Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
Violin Concerto
Violin Concerto (Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 is his last large orchestral work. It forms an important part of the violin repertoire and is one of the most popular and most frequently performed violin concertos of all time...
. He lived in England for some time from 1929, where he appeared in concerts with artists such as Maria Jeritza
Maria Jeritza
Maria Jeritza , born Marie Jedličková, was a celebrated Moravian soprano singer, long associated with the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera...
, Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...
, Jan Kiepura
Jan Kiepura
Jan Wiktor Kiepura was an acclaimed Polish singer and actor.-Biography:...
and Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
.
He returned to Vienna to become the first Concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
from 1933 to 1937, and from 1937 to 1951 led the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
. He nevertheless maintained his career as a soloist in concerts and recordings.
He was the soloist in the Viennese premiere of Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
's Violin Concerto
Violin Concerto (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61, is one of his longest orchestral compositions, and the last of his works to gain immediate popular success....
in 1947.
He formed a string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
. After Georg Kulenkampff
Georg Kulenkampff
Georg Kulenkampff was one of the world's most prominent concert violinists, one of the best-known German virtuosi of the 1930s and 1940s. Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Kulenkampff was known for his interpretations of works from the Romantic period...
's death in 1948, he replaced Kulenkampff in a famous piano trio
Piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
with Edwin Fischer
Edwin Fischer
Edwin Fischer was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, particularly in the traditional Germanic repertoire of such composers as J. S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert...
and Enrico Mainardi
Enrico Mainardi
Enrico Mainardi was an Italian cellist, composer, and conductor.At the age of thirteen, in 1910, Mainardi had already begun his career as a cello virtuoso who toured the concert halls of Europe...
.
In September 1952 he made his benchmark Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
recordings of all ten Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
violin sonatas with Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertory included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, both of whose complete sonatas he also...
in the Konzerthaus, Mozartsaal, Vienna.
He held teaching posts in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and 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...
. In 1956 he founded the Lucerne Festival Strings
Lucerne Festival Strings
The Lucerne Festival Strings is one of Switzerland's most frequently touring chamber orchestras. Founded in 1956 by Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Rudolf Baumgartner and directed by the latter until 1998, Achim Fiedler is the Artistic Director since 1998. Managing Director is Hans-Christoph Mauruschat...
together with Rudolf Baumgartner
Rudolf Baumgartner
Rudolf Baumgartner was a Swiss conductor and violinist. In 1956 he founded the Lucerne Festival Strings chamber orchestra together with Wolfgang Schneiderhan....
. He gave the 1959 premiere of his friend Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann was a German composer. Some have lauded him as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century, although he is now largely overlooked, particularly in English-speaking countries.-Life:...
's revised Concerto funèbre
Concerto funebre
Concerto funèbre is a violin concerto by the German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann. Written in 1939 and substantially revised in 1959, it is by far Hartmann's best known work, especially noted for its lyrical final movement...
.
Schneiderhan was married to the soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Irmgard Seefried
Irmgard Seefried
Irmgard Seefried was a distinguished German soprano who sang opera and lieder.Maria Theresia Irmgard Seefried was born in Köngetried, near Mindelheim, Bavaria, Germany, the daughter of educated Austrian-born parents. She studied at Augsburg University before making her debut in Aachen as the...
from 1948 until her death in 1988; they had three daughters together, including actress Mona Seefried (born 1957). He died in his native Vienna in 2002, aged 86. His nephew, also named Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Wolfgang Schneiderhan (General)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan is a German general who served as Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, from 2002 to 2009.-Military career:...
, was Chief of Staff of the German Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
from 2002 to 2009.