Wolfgang Sawallisch has died
Wolfgang Sawallisch died on Friday February 22 at the age of 89, the Bavarian State Opera announced on Sunday. He was the opera's director and musical director for twenty years.
From 1970 to 1980, he was artistic director of the Orchestre de Suisse Romande. Under his leadership, the orchestra expanded its repertoire to include Mahler and Bruckner, composers hitherto little heard in French-speaking Switzerland.
Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich in 1923. After studying at the Munich Conservatory, he obtained his first conducting post in Augsburg. In 1953, he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, and from 1957 to 1962, he conducted works by Richard Wagner at the Bayreuth Festival. Sawallisch was General Music Director in Hamburg from 1960 to 1970, then in Munich from 1971 to 1992, in parallel with his position in Geneva. In 1993, he took over the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the most prestigious ensembles in the United States. Sawallisch was also a renowned pianist, playing chamber music and accompanying singers.
A concert of Verdi's Requiem, performed by the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and conducted by Zubin Mehta, will be dedicated to the memory of Wolfgang Sawallisch next Monday.
PhotoUniversity Musical Society, Creative Commons
