Gotthold Schwarz (born 2 May 1952 in
Zwickau) is a German
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...
and
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Music
* Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra.
* ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas
* Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
. Based in
Leipzig, he started as a member of the
Thomanerchor and has conducted the
Gewandhausorchester.
Between 2016 and 2021, he was the 17th
Thomaskantor after
Johann Sebastian Bach.
Biography
Schwarz was the son of the cantor of St. Paul Church in Zwickau, which gave him an early contact with music. He began his musical career in 1964 as a member of the
Thomanerchor,
the
boys' choir in Leipzig founded in 1212 and directed by
Johann Sebastian Bach, among others, as the
Thomaskantor. Schwarz has collaborated with the choir since in several functions. After completion of a church music education at the College of Church Music in
Dresden, he studied at the
Hochschule für Musik "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig, voice with
Gerda Schriever
Gerda Schriever (27 August 1928 – 30 May 2014) was a German contralto in oratorio and recital, and an academic teacher. She appeared for decades with the Thomanerchor in Leipzig, also recording and for broadcast. She appeared at international fe ...
, organ with and
Hannes Kästner Hannes Kästner (27 October 1929 in – 14 July 1993 in Leipzig) was a German organist and harpsichordist.
During his school days, Kästner was a member of the St. Thomas School, Leipzig from 1940 to 1948. After finishing high school at the Thom ...
, and conducting with
Max Pommer
Max Pommer (born 9 February 1936) is a German musicologist and conductor, a director of the Leipziger Universitätschor and the founder and conductor of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum.
Career
Born in Leipzig, Pommer was a student of t ...
and
Hans-Joachim Rotzsch. Later he studied privately with
Peter Schreier,
and
Helmuth Rilling.
After graduation, he worked as a cantatas and oratorio singer. In 1979 he was appointed by Hans-Joachim Rotzsch as vocal coach of the Thomanerchor, serving also as a deputy and interim cantor in 1992, 1999 and 2002/03.
In 2011, he served as an interim conductor for
Georg Christoph Biller. Schwarz sang with conductors such as
John Eliot Gardiner,
Philippe Herreweghe, Peter Schreier,
Martin Haselböck, and with ensembles including the
Gewandhausorchester and the
Dresdner Kreuzchor. He has performed at the
Salzburg Festival, the
Vienna Musikverein, and in the US, Finland and Japan. He recorded several
Bach cantatas with Gardiner as part of the
Bach Cantata Pilgrimage
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...
. With the Thomanerchor, conducted by Biller, he recorded Bach's cantatas
''Es erhub sich ein Streit'', BWV 19,
''Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild'', BWV 79, and ''
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80
("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), BWV 80 (also: BWV 80.3), is a chorale cantata for Reformation Day by Johann Sebastian Bach. He reworked it from one of his Weimar cantatas, ''Alles, was von Gott geboren'', BWV 80a (also: BWV 80. ...
'', the ''
Mass in B minor
The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...
'' and the
Vox Christi in the ''
St John Passion
The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...
''. He recorded Bach's solo cantatas for bass
BWV 56
(), 56, is a church cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for the 19th Sunday after Trinity. It was first performed in Leipzig on 27 October, 1726. The composition is a solo cantata (german: Solokantate) because, apart from the ...
,
82, and
158
Year 158 ( CLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 911 '' Ab urbe ...
with the
Thomanerchor, conducted by
Michael Schneider and his orchestra La Stagione.
Increasingly, Schwarz has appeared as a conductor. He founded his own ensembles
Concerto Vocale Leipzig in 1984 and the
Sächsisches Barockorchester (Saxon Baroque Orchestra) in 1990. As a guest conductor he worked with the choir and orchestra of the Gewandhaus. In 1993, he founded with gambist
Siegfried Pank
Siegfried Pank (born 24 March 1936) is a German cellist and viol player. He was a member of the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig from 1962 to 1980, and toured with the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. He turned to playing the viol in historica ...
and organist
Hans Christoph Becker-Foss a baroque trio in order to perform mostly music of the
Bach family, but also other Baroque music.
Schwarz has been a teacher at the Hochschule für Musik "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" since 1986.
He was a juror of the
International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in 2004. He resides in
Leipzig.
On 9 June 2016 he was selected as
Thomaskantor in a term lasting until 2021. His successor was
Andreas Reize
Andreas Reize (born 19 May 1975) is a Swiss organist and conductor, with a focus on opera and choral conducting. He was appointed Thomaskantor on 11 September 2021, becoming the 18th director of music to take charge of the world famous Thomanerch ...
.
References
External links
*
*
Gotthold Schwarz Naxos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Gotthold
1952 births
Living people
People from Zwickau
Thomaskantors
German bass-baritones
German male conductors (music)
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
21st-century German conductors (music)
21st-century German male musicians