Rudolf Schwarz (conductor)
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Rudolf Schwarz CBE (29 April 1905, Vienna – 30 January 1994) was an Austrian conductor who became a British citizen and spent the latter half of his life in England.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Schwarz was born in Vienna and studied with the composers Hans Gál and Richard Strauss.[1] He made his conducting debut in Dusseldorf in 1924. He moved to Karlsruhe in 1927 as first conductor at the State Theatre alongside Josef Krips but was dismissed by the Nazis in April 1933 because he was Jewish.[2][1] He then became a director of the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden, a German-Jewish cultural organization backed by the Nazi Propaganda Ministry of Joseph Goebbels.[2] He was imprisoned by the Nazis, in 1939 to 1940, forced into labour from 1941 and re-arrested in 1942; deported to Auschwitz May 1943 and ended up in Belsen concentration camp in 1945. While at Auschwitz he suffered a broken shoulder-blade, which inhibited his gestures as a conductor in later life.[1]
[edit] Career in Britain
After the end of World War II he moved to England, where he was appointed in 1947 to lead the newly-reformed Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra. He was praised by Thomas Beecham as an "able conductor" for his work with the Bournemouth group,[3] and subsequently held positions with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. While at the BBC orchestra he was praised for his efforts "to reach the truth of the music".[4] However in the 1961-1962 season his interpretation of Mahler's Symphony No. 9 was criticized in the press as "blatant misrepresentation", and as moving "from bad to worse".[4] In 1964 Schwarz was appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Northern Sinfonia, where he served until 1973.[5] His work with the Northern Sinfonia was praised by many of the musicians who played under him: violinist Martin Hughes said that his "sense of rhythm, structure and tempo was exceptional"[1] and clarinettist George McDonald reflected that "he made the Sinfonia listen to themselves -- blend with each other ... he helped form the Orchestra's style and gave them musical discipline."[1]
In later life, Schwarz was acknowledged as a "formative influence" by Simon Rattle, teaching the younger conductor "the paramount importance of imposing his pulse on the music he played".[6]
[edit] Recordings
Schwarz's 1958 recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 with the London Symphony Orchestra originally for the Everest label has been highly praised.[7][8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Griffiths, pp. 17-18
- ^ a b Bernard Josephs. "Stepson hits back at academic over Nazi slur on father", Jewish Chronicle, 15 Feb 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
- ^ Jenkins, Lyndon (2005). While Spring And Summer Sang: Thomas Beecham and the Music of Frederick Delius. Ashgate, p. 115. ISBN 0754607216.
- ^ a b Briggs, Asa (1995). The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom. Oxford University Press, 230. ISBN 0192129678.
- ^ Griffiths, p. 101
- ^ Lebrecht, Norman (2001). The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power, Revised and Updated Edition, Citadel Press, pp. 292-293. ISBN 0806520884.
- ^ Smoley, Lewis M. (1996). Gustav Mahler's Symphonies: critical commentary on recordings since 1986, first edition, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 132-133. ISBN 0313297711. “Sound and balances are superb for this vintage recording and playing is generally clear and precise as well as idiomatic. The opening of the first movement has a magnificent martial quality with a superb march tread... The klagend outburst near the close is shattering.”
- ^ Duggan, Tony (May 2000). Mahler: Symphony No.5 Schwarz: Classical CD Reviews. MusicWeb. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
[edit] Bibliography
- Griffiths, Bill (2004). Northern Sinfonia: A Magic of Its Own. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK: Northumbria University Press. ISBN 1904794076.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Montague Birch |
Principal Conductors, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra 1947–1951 |
Succeeded by Charles Groves |
| Preceded by none |
Artistic Directors, Music Directors and Principal Conductors, Northern Sinfonia 1964-1973 |
Succeeded by Christopher Seaman |
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