Margit Haider-Dechant (born 5 May 1952) is an Austrian concert pianist, musicologist and music educator.

Career

Haider-Dechant studied education and piano at the

Bruckner-Konservatorium The Anton Bruckner Private University (in German ''Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität'', common short form is ''Bruckner University'') is one of five Austrian Universities for Music, Drama and Dance, and one of four universities in Linz, the Euro ...

in Linz, supported by a

Bösendorfer Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces 97- and 92-key models in addition to instrument ...

scholarship. She also studied piano at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and graduated with a diploma. She then studied with

Leonard Hokanson Leonard Hokanson (August 13, 1931 – March 21, 2003) was an American pianist who achieved prominence in Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. Early life and education Born in Vinalhaven, Maine, he attended Clark University in Worcester, Massa ...

in Frankfurt and Vitaly Margulis in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

. In 2005, she became professor for piano at the

Anton Bruckner Private University The Anton Bruckner Private University (in German ''Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität'', common short form is ''Bruckner University'') is one of five Austrian Universities for Music, Drama and Dance, and one of four universities in Linz, the Euro ...

and was awarded a doctorate in philosophy in 2009 following her dissertation entitled ''

Joseph Woelfl Joseph Johann Baptist Woelfl (surname sometimes written in the German form Wölfl) (24 December 1773 - 21 May 1812) was an Austrian pianist and composer. Life Woelfl was born in Salzburg, where he studied music under Leopold Mozart and Mich ...

-Werkverzeichnis''. In addition to her work in Linz, a visiting professorship took her to the

Mahidol University Mahidol University (Mahidol), an autonomous research institution in Thailand, had its origin in the establishment of Siriraj Hospital in 1888. Mahidol had an acceptance rate for Medicine of 0.4% as of the 2016 academic year. Becoming the Univers ...

in Bangkok from 2001 to 2002. Until her retirement in 2014, she directed a concert class for piano at the Anton Bruckner Private University. Among her students are prize winners of national and international competitions. Haider-Dechant gave concerts all over the world. Some of her concerts have been broadcast by television and radio stations. She has also released numerous recordings. After the release of the CD ''Wagner for keys'', she was invited by

Wolfgang Wagner Wolfgang Wagner (30 August 191921 March 2010) was a German opera director. He is best known as the director (Festspielleiter) of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's ...

to a concert in the villa

Wahnfried Wahnfried was the name given by Richard Wagner to his villa in Bayreuth. The name is a German compound of (delusion, madness) and (peace, freedom). Financed by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the house was constructed from 1872 to 1874 under Bayreu ...

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

. Her concert repertoire ranges from

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

to modern music. Of particular importance to her, are the works of the 19th century, including

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Lisz ...

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

Groupe des Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name, inspired by Mily Balakirev's '' The Five'', originates in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

as well as works of Austrian modernism. In 1990, she gave the first public performance of Alkan's ''Concert sans orchestre'' op. 39, which had been considered unplayable until then, at the ''Festival Alkan'' 1990 in Paris. The reconstructed 1-movement Piano Concerto No. 6 in D major by Nicholas Cook from sketches by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

in the arrangement by Hermann Dechant was published by the later in 2015 and premiered in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. Haider-Dechant is President of the ''International Joseph Woelfl Society'' (IJWG), which she co-founded in 2011, and Chairman of the ''Joseph-Woelfl-Gesellschaft Bonn.'' She is married with composer

Hermann Dechant Hermann Dechant (born 29 November 1939) is an Austrian, conductor, flautist, musicologist, composer and music publisher. Career Dechant was born in Wien-Meidling as the son of the architect and sculptor Oskar Dechant. After his Matura, he st ...

Recordings

Piano solo

Balduin Sulzer Balduin Sulzer (Cistercians) (as ''Josef Sulzer'' (15 March 1932 – 10 April 2019) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest. He became known as a music educator and composer. Life Sulzer was born in Großraming. At the age of ten Sulzer came to ...

: Toccata u. Miniaturen, Margit Haider, Klavier, Preiserrecords SPR 145, LP * Balduin Sulzer: Notices for Piano, Margit Haider, Klavier, Preiserrecords SPR 218, LP * Balduin Sulzer: Sonate rhapsodique, CD Radio Oberösterreich * Wagner für Tasten, APOLLON-Musikoffizin CI 20.006, CD * Mozarts Schüler, APOLLON-Musikoffizin CI 20.007, CD * Woelfl & Alkan. Zwei Giganten des Klaviers, APOLLON-Musikoffizin CI 20.013, CD

World premieres of concerts

* Balduin Sulzer: Konzert für Klavier und Bläseroktett. Ensemble Octogon, Margit Haider, Klavier, Oberösterreichische Stiftskonzerte 1993, Stift Kremsmünster * Joel Diermaier (born 1964): „Per sonare“, Konglomerat für Blasinstrumente, Streicher und Klavier nach Alban Bergs Sonate op. 1.:Festival für zeitgenössische Musik in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

, Russia, 2008. Orchester der Musikhochschule „Glinka-Konservatorium“, Margit Haider-Dechant, Klavier *

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester op. 42, Österreichische Erstaufführung im

Arnold Schönberg Center The Arnold Schönberg Center, established in 1998 in Vienna, is a repository of Arnold Schönberg's archival legacy and a cultural center that is open to the public. Activities Archive and library, exhibitions, concerts, lectures, workshops and ...

Vienna, 2008 * Ludwig van Beethoven: World premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 6, reconstructed after Beethoven's sketches by Nicholas Cook and Hermann Dechant

Awards

* 1998: Ernennung zum Ehrenmitglied des Richard-Wagner-Verbandes Barcelona. * 2000: Verleihung der Ehrenprofessur der Russischen Föderation. * 2015: Verleihung des Goldenen Ehrenzeichens für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:HaiderDechant, Margit Austrian classical pianists Austrian women classical pianists 1952 births Living people Academic staff of Anton Bruckner Private University