Heinrich Schiff
Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor.
Early life[edit]
Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria.[1] His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers.[1] He studied cello with Tobias Kühne and André Navarra and made his solo debut in Vienna and London in 1971. He studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky.
Career[edit]
Schiff made his conducting debut in 1986.[1] He was artistic director of the Northern Sinfonia from 1990 to 1996,[1] and recorded with them for the Collins Classics label.[2] He also held chief conductorships with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra in Copenhagen, Denmark (1996–2000), and the Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur (1996-2001[3]).
In 2004, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and served in the post from 2005 to 2008.[1] He stood down from the post in 2008 for health reasons.[4]
Schiff played the "Mara" Stradivarius (1711) and "Sleeping Beauty" made by Montagnana in Venice in 1739.[5] His recording of the Bach Cello Suites won prizes, and his recording of the Shostakovich concertos won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1985.[1] His recording of the Brahms Double Concerto with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Wolfgang Sawallisch won the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis. Composers who have written cello concertos for Schiff include John Casken,[2][5] Friedrich Gulda[6] and Otto Zykan.[7]
Among his students were Rudi Spring, Gautier Capuçon, Richard Harwood and Natalie Clein.
Other[edit]
Schiff frequently experienced pain in his right shoulder and arm, the one that holds the bow, presumably caused by overexertion, but tried to ignore it. While playing in a chamber concert in Vienna on 25 April 2010 he had to take breaks during pieces due to the pain. After this evening, he never played cello in public again.[8]
Since 2012, the 'Mara' Cello has been played by Christian Poltéra, one of Schiff's former students.[9][10]
Death[edit]
Schiff died in Vienna on 23 December 2016 at the age of 65.[1][11]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g Millington, Barry (December 30, 2016). "Heinrich Schiff obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ a b Andrew Clements (2003-07-04). "Casken: Darting the Skiff; Maharal Dreaming, etc: Schiff/ Northern Sinfonia/ Casken". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ ""Sechs Jahre, die wir nicht missen möchten" | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
- ^ "Stefan Vladar neuer Chefdirigent des Wiener Kammerorchesters". Vienna Online. 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ a b Griffiths, Bill, Northern Sinfonia. Northumbria University Press, p. 21 (ISBN 1904794076).
- ^ Andrew Clements (1999-08-10). "Colour and spice: Gulda's Cello Concerto (Royal Albert Hall / Radio 3)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ Kairos Records KAI0015046 (2019)
- ^ Amling, Ulrich (23 December 2016). "Zum Tod des Cellisten Heinrich Schiff". Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Christian Poltéra". www.christianpoltera.com.
- ^ zeit.de 7 May 2015 / Carolin Pirich: Oh, Mara!
- ^ Jahn, Johann (23 December 2016). "ZUM TOD DES CELLISTEN UND DIRIGENTEN". br-klassik.de.
Further reading[edit]
- Rhein, John von (23 November 1990). "Austrian cellist makes the most of Bach suites". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. p. 22. Retrieved 26 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
External links[edit]
- Intermusica agency biography of Heinrich Schiff
- Interview with Heinrich Schiff, July 3, 1989
- Heinrich Schiff discography at Discogs
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