Johann Sonnleitner (born 1941) is an Austrian

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

and expert as interpreter of early music on historical keyboard instruments. He is an

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

, a

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

and

music historian Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history ...

Life and career

Born in Trofaiach, Sonnleitner studied organ at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

with Alois Forer, harpsichord with

Eta Harich-Schneider Eta (Margarete) Harich-Schneider (''née'' Schneider; 16 November 1894 – 10 January 1986) was a German harpsichordist, musicologist, Japanologist and writer. Life Born in Oranienburg, Harich-Schneider later gave her year of birth as 1897, wh ...

and school music as well as history and pedagogy at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

. He completed his education by attending

master class A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed. "Masterclass" is als ...

es with Gustav Leonhardt,

Anton Heiller Anton Heiller (15 September 1923 – 25 March 1979) was an Austrian organist, harpsichordist, composer and conductor. Biography Born in Vienna, he was first trained in church music by Wilhelm Mück, organist of Vienna's Stephansdom (St. Stephen' ...

, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini,

Marie-Claire Alain Marie-Claire Geneviève Alain-Gommier (10 August 1926 – 26 February 2013) was a French organist, scholar and teacher best known for her prolific recording career, with 260 recordings, making her the most-recorded classical organist in the world ...

, Cor Kee among others. He also is an international concert musician as soloist, chamber music partner and song

accompanist Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of ...

. He began teaching improvisation and score playing at the Vienna Musikhochschule and continued with a six-year assistant to Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the

Mozarteum Salzburg Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

. In 1979, he came to the

Zurich University of the Arts Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, german: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich' ...

as a teacher for historical keyboard instruments. From 1983 to 2003, he taught regularly at the teaching and research institute ''

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, that focuses on early music and historically informed performance. Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that have ...

''. For more than two decades, Sonnleitner led the master classes for keyboard instruments within the

Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik The Innsbruck Festival of Early Music (German: Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik) is a festival of historically informed performances of music from the late Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical periods which takes place annually in Inn ...

. Margarete Kopelent, Marie-Louise Dähler,

Yasunori Imamura is a Japanese lutenist. Imamura has appeared on more than 150 CDs, both as a soloist and as a member of ensembles. His solo recordings include the complete lute works by Johann Sebastian Bach (two versions : for Naxos in 2018 and for Etcetera ...

and Naoki Kitaya were among those who studied with Sonnleitner, and he taught courses to artists like Oscar Milani,

Christine Schornsheim Christine Schornsheim, married name Christine Engelmayr (born in 1959), is a German harpsichordist and pianist. Life and career Schornsheim attended the from 1969 to 1976 and studied piano at the local Berlin University of the Arts until 1982. ...

and Gudrun Schaumann. He has published his teaching and research activities in the field of performance practice (especially with regard to historical tempo and

metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...

indications) in a series of essays and together with the musicologist Clemens-Christoph von Gleich in the study work ''Bach: Wie schnell?'' Sonnleitner is known for numerous premieres of new organ and harpsichord music as a member of the Viennese ensemble ''Die Reihe'' of Friedrich Cerha, and uses music in an extended tonality, inspired by the compositions and research work of Heiner Ruland. Sonnleitner composes Lieder, choral works, chamber music and music for 24-tone keyboard instruments ( Quarter tone).

Work

;Cantatas: * ''Die Oelberg-Apokalypse'' * ''Der himmlische Reiter'' * ''Die Waffenrüstung Gottes'' ;Vesper * ''An der Schwelle des Abends'' ;Oratorium * ''Klingendes Licht'' * ''Das Traumlied des Olaf Astenson''

Publications

* ''Die Geschäfte des Herrn Robert Hohlbaum die Schriftstellerkarriere eines Österreichers in der Zwischenkriegszeit und im Dritten Reich''. * ''Entwicklungsplanung für ein kooperatives System der Erwachsenenbildung in Österreich Projekt 12. Entwicklungsplan für Öffentliche Büchereien / von Johann Sonnleitner. rojektträger: Büchereiverband Österreichs'.''Entwicklungsplanung für ein kooperatives System der Erwachsenenbildung in Österreich Projekt 12. Entwicklungsplan für Öffentliche Büchereien / von Johann Sonnleitner. [Projektträger: Büchereiverband Österreichs]''
on WorldCat

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnleitner, Johann Austrian organists Austrian harpsichordists Austrian music educators Austrian music historians Austrian male writers Austrian performers of early music 1941 births Living people People from Styria