Franz Konwitschny (14 August 1901,

Fulnek Fulnek () is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative par ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

– 28 July 1962, Belgrade) was a German conductor and violist of Moravian descent. He started his career on the

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

,Schwinger playing in the

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

under

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

. In 1925, he moved to Vienna, where he played the viola with the Fitzner Quartet. He also began teaching at the

Wiener Volkskonservatorium The Wiener Volkskonservatorium was a Conservatory in Vienna established between 1923 and 1926 by Ferdinand Grossmann, Emmerich Maday, and Eduard Castle. It was dissolved in 1938 amidst financial difficulties. Among its faculty were Ferdinand Gr ...

. He later became a conductor, joining the

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Opera in 1927. From 1949 until his death he was principal conductor of the

. From 1953 until 1955 he was also principal conductor of the

Dresden Staatskapelle The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

and from 1955 onward he led the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

. Like Furtwängler, Konwitschny used "expansive gestures" and had a "dislike of an exact beat." Konwitschny recorded a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies. He was given the nickname ''Kon-

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

'' because of his heavy drinking habits. His first marriage to Maria Wilhelmine Josephine Hambloch (Gieser) produced two children, Franziska Hinzte (née Konwitschny) and Dieter Konwitschny. His son from his second marriage

Peter Konwitschny Peter Konwitschny (born 21 January 1945 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German opera and theatre director. Biography Peter Konwitschny grew up in Leipzig, where his father Franz Konwitschny was principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestr ...

is a leading opera director in Germany.

Recordings

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

'',

Ludwig Suthaus Ludwig Suthaus (12 December 1906 – 7 September 1971) was a German operatic heldentenor. Life Born in Cologne Suthaus was a stonemason's apprentice when his singing talent was first discovered. He subsequently started his voice studies at the ...

Gottlob Frick Gottlob Frick (28 July 1906 in Ölbronn-Dürrn – 18 August 1994 in Muhlacker) was a German operatic bass. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles, as well as those of Nicolai and Lortzing. Career Frick's teac ...

Margarete Bäumer Margarete Henriette Therese Roßkopf-Bäumer (26 May 1898 – December 1969) was a German operatic soprano. Life Born in Düsseldorf, Bäumer trained her soprano voice in Düsseldorf and Cologne and made her debut in 1920 at the Stadttheater B ...

, Karl Wolfram, Erna Westenberger – Franz Konwitschny, conductor:

, 21-23.10.1950 (Walhall Eternity Series WLCD 0118) *

, ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...

'',

Hans Hopf Hans Hopf (August 2, 1916, Nuremberg – June 25, 1993, Munich) was a German operatic tenor, one of the leading heldentenors of the immediate postwar period. He sang Walther von Stolzing in the Bayreuth Festival's ''Die Meistersinger'', in 1951 a ...

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...

Elisabeth Grümmer Elisabeth Grümmer (née Schilz; 31 March 1911 – 6 November 1986) was a German soprano. She has been described as "a singer blessed with elegant musicality, warm-hearted sincerity, and a voice of exceptional beauty". Life Elisabeth Schilz was b ...

– Franz Konwitschny, conductor:

Staatskapelle Berlin The Staatskapelle Berlin () is a German orchestra and the resident orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, Unter den Linden. The orchestra is one of the oldest in the world. Until the fall of the German Empire in 1918 the orchestra's name was ''Kön ...

. Chor der Berliner Staatsoper, Recorded in October 1960 *

, ''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner claim ...

'' Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,

Marianne Schech Marianne Schech (18 January 1914 – 22 July 1999) was a German operatic soprano and academic who appeared internationally. She was a member of the Bavarian State Opera from 1946 to 1970. She is known for leading roles in works by Richard Wagner ...

, Rudolf Schock, Gottlob Frick,

Fritz Wunderlich Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35. Biography Wunderlich was born in Kusel in ...

- Franz Konwitschny, conductor:

. Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin 1960

References

* *

Wolfram Schwinger Walter Wolfram Schwinger (14 July 1928 – 17 February 2011) was a German director, music writer and music critic. Life Born in Dresden, Schwinger was the scion of a family of theologians and had two brothers. He studied musicology in Berli ...

, "Konwitschny, Franz" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, volume 13,

External links

František Sláma (musician) František Sláma (19 November 1923 – 5 May 2004) was a Czech chamber music performer. He was the first Czech cellist who focused on Early music. Biography Sláma was born in Herálec. Until the age of 18 he worked in the quarry. His meeting ...

br>Archive
. More on the history of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s: ''Conductors'' 1901 births 1962 deaths People from Fulnek German male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) German people of Moravian-German descent Music directors of the Berlin State Opera Moravian-German people 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians {{Germany-conductor-stub