Michael Schönheit (born in 1961) is a German
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
and
conductor.
Life
Born in
Saalfeld in Communist
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, Schönheit received his first musical education in piano and organ playing from his father, the organist and choirmaster Walter Schönheit, and was a member of the ''Thüringer Sängerknaben'' in Saalfeld, which his father had newly founded, until 1978.
After the
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
, Schönheit studied
conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...
from 1978 to 1985 at the
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig with
Wolf-Dieter Hauschild, piano with Günther Kootz and, from 1982, organ with
Wolfgang Schetelich.
After completing his studies he succeeded his father at the , a post he held until 1990, and until 1991 he was also director of the choirs at the Johanneskirche Saalfeld.
In 1986 Schönheit was appointed to succeed
Matthias Eisenberg
Matthias Eisenberg (born 15 January 1956) is a German concert organist and harpsichordist, and a cantor. The award-winning player is known for performing concerts with clarinetist Giora Feidman. He has performed and conducted master classes interna ...
as
Gewandhaus organist. At the same time he became a member of the Leipzig Bach Orchestra. Schönheit worked with important conductors such as
Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor.
Herbert Blomstedt was born in Massachusetts. Two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin. He studied at the Stockholm Ro ...
,
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Or ...
,
Michel Plasson
Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor.
Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...
,
Marek Janowski and Wolf-Dieter Hauschild. Kurt Masur enabled him to make his debut as a soloist with the
New York Philharmonic in 1995.
In 1991/92 Schönheit temporarily took over the rehearsal work of the Gewandhaus Choir. Subsequently, he taught the subjects of Artistic and Liturgical Organ Playing at the
Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule, which has since been closed, and since 1994 he has taught artistic organ playing at the
Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg
The Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg (formerly ''Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg-Augsburg'') is a music conservatoire based in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. The conservatoire has a secondary building in Augsburg.
The Hochschule
The Hochschule für ...
.
Since 1994 Schönheit has also been the artistic director of the Merseburger organ days and was also appointed honorary cathedral organist of the
Merseburg Cathedral
Merseburg Cathedral (german: Merseburger Dom) is the proto-cathedral of the former Bishopric of Merseburg in Merseburg, Germany. The mostly Gothic church is considered an artistic and historical highlight in southern Saxony-Anhalt.
History Backg ...
in March 1996. In recent years he has increasingly devoted himself to conducting, and since 1998 he has been the director of the Merseburg Hofmusik and the Collegium Vocale Leipzig. Through regular cooperation with the chamber choir of the Schlosskapelle Saalfeld he is still connected to his home town Saalfeld.
Schönheit dedicates himself to the historical
fortepiano
A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...
. Since 2006 he has been playing a fortepiano made by
John Broadwood
John Broadwood (6 October 1732 – 17 July 1812) was the Scottish founder of the piano manufacturer Broadwood and Sons.
Life
Broadwood was born 6 October 1732 and christened 15 Oct 1732 at St Helens, Cockburnspath in Berwickshire, and grew up in ...
in 1805.
List of 38 compositions on the
German National Library.
Awards
* Prize winner of the VII.
International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in 1984
[Bach-Archiv Leipzig]
''Bach-Preisträger seit 1950''
/ref>
* Mendelssohn Scholarship of the Ministry of Culture of the GDR
* Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt
The Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt) is the highest award of the German State of Saxony-Anhalt. Established 23 May 2006, the order is presented by the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt. The tot ...
2015
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonheit, Michael
German classical organists
German conductors (music)
1961 births
Living people
People from Saalfeld