Ludwig Streicher (26 June 1920 – 11 March 2003) was a contrabassist from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Familiar to many as the former principal bass of the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its ...

and bass soloist, he is also known as an instructor and as the author of a contrabass textbook.

Early life

Streicher's love for music (which he called ''Musizieren)'' was influenced by his father. His parents owned an inn located in

Ziersdorf Ziersdorf is a town in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria. Geography Ziersdorf lies in the Weinviertel The ("wine quarter") or ("area below the ") is located in the northeast of Lower Austria. In the east, the borders S ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. There, his father led a local brass band. His father gave Streicher his first violin lessons.

Career

At age 14, he attended

Vienna Music Academy 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 ...

, switching to double bass. He studied with students of

Franz Simandl Franz Simandl (August 1, 1840 – December 15, 1912) was a Czech double-bassist and pedagogue most remembered for his book ''New Method for the Double Bass,'' known as the "Simandl book", which is to this day used as a standard study of doubl ...

, a famous double bass soloist. Streicher graduated in 1940 and spent the next four years serving as principal bass at the

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

National Theater. He was suddenly conscripted by the German Wehrmacht, which was followed by Russian imprisonment. In 1945, he escaped on foot and joined the Vienna Philharmonic, spending 19 years (1954 - 1973) as principal. During this time, he claimed to have hitched a ride in a Russian tank to audition for the Orchestra of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

. In April of 1966, he gave his first solo concert in Wels. The raging success took him to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, America,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, Japan,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. As a soloist he recorded pieces ranging from

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer, violinist, and silvologist. He was a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. (webpage has a translation button) Life 1739–1764 Dittersdorf was born in ...

's 18th century compositions to contemporary contrabass pieces. After the tour, Streicher devoted his time to instructing young students at the Vienna Musical Theater Academy and at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía (Queen Sofía College of Music) in Madrid.

References

1920 births 2003 deaths Double-bassists Male double-bassists Austrian classical musicians Academic staff of the Reina Sofía School of Music Players of the Vienna Philharmonic 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century male musicians {{Double-bassist-stub