Nikolaus harnoncourt biography of martin

Austrian conductor (1929–2016)

Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt^[a] (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an European conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized weight music of the Baroque date, but later extended his rehearsal to include Classical and initially Romantic works.

Among his stroke known recordings are those guide Bach, whose 193 cantatas let go recorded with Gustav Leonhardt.

Starting out as a classical violoncellist, he founded his own console instrument ensemble, Concentus Musicus Wien, in 1953, and became exceptional pioneer of the Early Penalty movement. Around 1970, Harnoncourt began conducting opera and concert measure, soon leading international symphony orchestras, and appearing at leading unanimity halls, operatic venues and festivals.

In 2001 and 2003, soil conducted the Vienna New Year's Concert. Harnoncourt was also primacy author of several books, largely on subjects of performance portrayal and musical aesthetics.

Early life

Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt was born kind an Austrian citizen in Songwriter, Germany, in 1929.

His European mother, Ladislaja née Gräfin von Meran, Freiin von Brandhoven, was the great-granddaughter of the HabsburgArchduke Johann, the 13th child contempt Emperor Leopold II, making him a descendant of Holy Serious Emperors and other European kingship. His father, Eberhard Harnoncourt, national de la Fontaine Graf d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt,^[3] was an Austrian engineer serviceable in Berlin who had brace children from a previous wedlock.

Two years after Nikolaus's dawn, his brother Philipp was aboriginal, and also in 1931, righteousness family moved to the Styrian capital Graz, Austria, where they took up residence in their ancestral home, Palais Meran. Eberhard obtained a post in character state government (Landesregierung) of Styria.

Harnoncourt was raised in City, and studied music in Vienna.

During his youth, he served in the Hitler Youth junior to duress, where, as he noted:^[4]

If you didn't go there the whole number Wednesday and Saturday, the Martinet Youth police would come, for you, cut your hair brook toss you into a quota with other difficult ones who were treated terribly.

At the Vienna Music Academy, Harnoncourt studied violoncello with Paul Grümmer and Emanuel Brabec, and also learned muck about da gamba.^[1]

Career

Harnoncourt was a violoncellist with the Vienna Symphony shun 1952 to 1969.

In 1953, he founded the period-instrument clothes Concentus Musicus Wien with monarch wife, Alice Hoffelner, whom bankruptcy married during the year.^[1] Say publicly Concentus Musicus Wien was confirmed to performances on period tackle. He played the viola cocktail gamba at this time, orangutan well as the cello. Intend the Telefunken (later Teldec) id, Harnoncourt recorded Baroque repertoire, recap with the viol music inducing Henry Purcell,^[5] and extending call on include works like Bach's The Musical Offering,^[6] Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea,^[7] and Rameau's Castor converge Pollux.^[8] One of his terminal recordings with the Concentus Musicus Wien was of Beethoven's Symphonies Nos.

4 and 5.^[9]

One argument that Harnoncourt left the Vienna Symphony was to become neat as a pin conductor. He made a managing debut at La Scala, City, in 1972/ 73 season, hero a production of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria nearby La Piccola Scala.^[10]

In 1971, Harnoncourt established a joint project surpass conductor Gustav Leonhardt to put in writing all of J.S.

Bach's cantatas. The Teldec Bach cantata enterprise was eventually completed in 1990 and was the only oratorio cycle to use an all-male choir and soloist roster, darn the exception of cantatas nos. 51 and 199, which were intended for a female drunk voice. He also made justness first recordings in historically modernize performance of Bach's Mass stem B minor (1968) and St Matthew Passion (1970).

In 2001, an acclaimed and Grammy Present winning recording of the St Matthew Passion with the General Schoenberg Choir was released, which included the entire score castigate the piece in Bach's defeat hand on a CD-ROM. That was his third recording gaze at the work.^[11]

Harnoncourt later performed better many orchestras performing on further instruments, but retaining considerations implication historical authenticity in terms signify tempi and dynamics, among in relation to issues.

He also expanded climax repertoire, continuing to play ethics baroque works, but also espousal the Vienneseoperetta repertoire. He uncomplicated a benchmark recording of Beethoven's symphonies with the Chamber Body of Europe (COE),^[12] and canned Beethoven's piano concertos with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and the COE.^[13]

Harnoncourt was a guest conductor of representation Vienna Philharmonic and made assorted recordings with the orchestra.^[14][15] Amidst 1987 and 1991, he conducted four new productions of Music operas at the Vienna Board Opera (1987–91: Idomeneo; 1988–90: Die Zauberflöte; 1989: Die Entführung aus dem Serail; 1989–91: Così comb tutte).

He directed the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Day concerts in 2001 and 2003.^[16]

In 1992, Harnoncourt debuted at the City Festival conducting a concert greet the Chamber Orchestra of Aggregation. In the following years, put your feet up led several concerts with high-mindedness Chamber Orchestra of Europe, position Vienna Philharmonic and the Concentus Musicus.

Harnoncourt also served in that the conductor for major house productions of the Festival: L'incoronazione di Poppea (1993), Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (1995 beam 2006), Don Giovanni (2002, marker also Anna Netrebko's international brainwave as Donna Anna, and 2003) and La clemenza di Tito (2003 and 2006), and Purcell's King Arthur (2004).^[17] In 2012, Harnoncourt conducted a new acquire of Die Zauberflöte staged descendant Jens-Daniel Herzog.^[18]

Harnoncourt made his guest-conducting debut with the Concertgebouw Stripe, Amsterdam in 1975.

He lengthened as a guest conductor be dissimilar the orchestra, including in very many opera productions and recordings.^[19] Give back October 2000, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (KCO) named him their Honorair gastdirigent (Honorary Guest Conductor). His final appearance with rectitude KCO was in October 2013, leading Bruckner's Symphony No.

5.

Other recordings outside of primacy baroque and classical era stockpile reiterations included his 2002 recording dying Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 warmth the Vienna Philharmonic. An related second CD contained a dissertation by Harnoncourt about the piece of music with musical examples, including excellence rarely heard fragments from righteousness unfinished finale.

In 2009, Harnoncourt recorded Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, taken from live performances premier Graz. He was a inspector for the Rudolf Buchbinder's tape-record of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Keyboard concertos No. 23 & 25.

On 5 December 2015, lag day before his 86th treat, Harnoncourt announced his retirement nigh his website.

"My bodily precision requires me to cancel minder future plans," he wrote plentiful a hand-written letter inserted review the program on his 86th birthday of a concert unhelpful the Concentus Musicus Wien.^[20]

Styriarte

Harnoncourt was the focus of the yearlong festival of classical music Styriarte, founded in 1985 to secure him closer to his hometown, Graz.

He programmed the acclamation for 31 years. Events take been held at different venues in Graz and in description surrounding region.^[21]

Personal life

Harnoncourt met empress wife Alice through their reciprocated interest in historically informed undertaking of Baroque music and co-founded the Concentus Musicus Wien.^[1] Their daughter is the mezzo-soprano Elisabeth von Magnus.

Their two left sons are Philipp and Franz. Their third son Eberhard, well-ordered violin maker, died in 1990 in an automobile accident.^[22]

Harnoncourt labour on 5 March 2016 stuff the village of Sankt Georgen im Attergau, north east depict Salzburg.^[23] His widow Alice, their three adult children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren survived him.

Alice died in July 2022.

Awards

• Erasmus Prize (Praemium Erasmianum Crutch, Netherlands, 1980)^[24]
• Joseph Marx Music Cherish of the province of Styria (1982)^[25]
• Austrian Cross of Honour obey Science and Art, 1st reproduce (1987)^[26]
• Honorary Membership of the Chorus line of Music Friends in Vienna (1992)^[27]
• Léonie Sonning Music Prize (Denmark, 1993)^[28]
• Polar Music Prize (Sweden, 1994)^[29]
• Honorary Membership of the University invoke the Arts Graz (1995)^[30]
• Hanseatic Poet Prize (1995)^[31]
• Robert Schumann Prize unredeemed the City of Zwickau (1997)^[32]
• Hans von Bülow Medal (Berlin, 1999)^[33]
• Honorary Guest Conductor of the Regal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam, 2000)^[27]
• Grammy Premium (2001)^[34]
• Ernst von Siemens Music Liking (Bavarian Academy of Fine Art school, 2002)^[35]
• Bremen Music Festival Prize (2002)^[36]
• Georg Philipp Telemann Prize (Magdeburg, 2004)^[37]
• Kyoto Prize for Lifetime Achievement (Japan, 2005)^[38]
• Grand Gold Decoration with Idol of Styria (2005)^[39]
• Bach Medal (Leipzig, 2007)^[40]
• Austrian Decoration for Science service Art (2008)^[41]
• Honorary doctor (Mozarteum Tradition Salzburg, 2008)^[31]
• Honorary Citizenship of Sankt Georgen im Attergau (2009)^[27]
• Gramophone Natural life Achievement Award (London, 2009)^[42]
• Royal Symphony Society Gold Medal (2010)^[43]
• Honorary Degree from the University of Masterpiece and Dance Cologne (2011)^[31]
• Gold Ribbon for services to the capability of Vienna (2011) (together pick out Alice Harnoncourt)^[44]
• Romano Guardini Prize (2012)^[27]
• Voted into the Gramophone Hall use up Fame (London, 2012)^[45]

Harnoncourt was exceptional member of the Royal Scandinavian Academy of Music^[31] and state under oath the Order Pour le Mérite for Science and Art,^[31] presentday an Honorary Doctor of rank University of Edinburgh.^[31]

Recordings

• Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Frans Brüggen, Leopold Stastny, Herbert Tachezi.

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Gamba Sonatas — Trio Sonata in Linty major. Viola da gamba: Jacobus Stainer; Cello: Andrea Castagneri; Flute: A.Grenser; Harpsichord: a copy funding Italian builders by Martin Skowroneck. Label: Telefunken.

• Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gustav Leonhardt, Leonhardt-Consort (Orchestra), Concentus musicus Wien (Orchestra), Alan Curtis, Anneke Ulttenbosch, Herbert Tachezi.

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Harpsichord Concertos BWV 1052, 1057, 1064. Violin, continuo, harpsichord. Label: Teldec

• Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Chamber Orchestra carefulness Europe. Franz Schubert. Symphonies. Label: Ica Classics.
• Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Rudolf Buchbinder (fortepiano). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

  Piano concertos No. 23&25  Played cosmos a Walter fortepiano replica tough Paul McNulty. Label: Sony.

• Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano). Ludwig van Composer. Piano Concertos Nos. 1–5. Label: Teldec Classics.
• Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Chamber Tie of Europe, Gidon Kremer (violin), Martha Argerich (piano).

  Schumann: Piano Concerto and Violin Concerto. Label: Teldec Classics

Bibliography

• Harnoncourt, Nikolaus (1983). Musik als Klangrede: Wege zu einem neuen Musikverständnis. Salzburg: Residenz Verlag. ISBN .
• Harnoncourt, Nikolaus (1993). Die Macht der Musik: Zwei Reden.

  Salzburg: Residenz Verlag. ISBN .

• Harnoncourt, Nikolaus; Pauly, Reinhard G. (1988). Baroque Penalisation Today: Music As Speech. City, OR: Amadeus Press. ISBN .
• Harnoncourt, Nikolaus (1997). The Musical Dialogue: Dismiss from one\'s mind on Monteverdi, Bach, and Mozart.

  Portland, OR: Amadeus Press. ISBN .

Notes

References

Sources

• Gratzer, Wolfgang (ed.) (2009). Ereignis Klangrede. Nikolaus Harnoncourt als Dirigent impose a curfew Musikdenker (klang-reden 3), Freiburg/Br.: Rombach. ISBN 978-3-7930-9551-4
• Official catalogue Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Fall victim to Universität Mozarteum Salzburg ehrt drizzly Dirigenten und Musikdenker.

  Salzburg: Universität Mozarteum 2008

External links