Sebastian Peschko (30 October 1909 – 29 September 1987) was a German classical pianist, specialised in the art form of

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er. He was

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

to some of the foremost lyrical singers of the 20th century.

Life and career

Peschko was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on the October 30th 1909. His father was Paul Peschko, an organist and private lecturer. From 1927 to 1933, he studied at the ''Hochschule für Musik'' (today:

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

), supported by a Bechstein scholarship from 1930 onwards. During that period he was a student of

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied ...

. In 1933, Peschko won the Mendelssohn-Award. Following this, he played alongside Germany's foremost lyric baritone singer,

Heinrich Schlusnus Heinrich Schlusnus (6 August 1888 – 18 June 1952) was Germany's foremost lyric baritone of the period between World War I and World War II. He sang opera and lieder with equal distinction. Career A native of Braubach, Schlusnus studied with vo ...

, touring globally from 1934 until 1950. Peschko was remembered as the piano partner of a number of notable singers, including

Theo Altmeyer Theo Altmeyer (16 March 1931 – 28 July 2007) was a German classical tenor. Although he was a successful opera singer, he is chiefly remembered for his work as an oratorio soloist. He possessed a rich and lyrical voice that he employed with grea ...

Erna Berger Erna Berger (19 October 1900 – 14 June 1990) was a German lyric coloratura soprano. She was best known for her Queen of the Night and her Konstanze. Career Born in Dresden, Germany, Berger spent some years as a child in India and South Ameri ...

, Walter Berry,

Rudolf Bockelmann Rudolf Bockelmann (born 2 April 1892 in Bodenteich, died 9 October 1958 in Dresden) was a German dramatic baritone and Kammersänger. He built an international career as an outstanding Wagnerian singer but damaged his reputation during the 1930s ...

Grace Bumbry Grace Melzia Bumbry (born January 4, 1937), an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano earlier in her career. She is a member of a pioneering generation of African-Ameri ...

Franz Crass Franz Crass (9 March 192823 June 2012) was a German bass singer. A native of Wipperfürth, Rhine Province, Crass studied with Gerda Heuer in Wiesbaden and with Professor Clemens Glettenberg at the Hochschule für Musik in Köln. He won numer ...

, Lisa Della Casa,

Karl Erb Karl Erb (13 July 1877 – 13 July 1958) was a German tenor who made his career first in opera and then in oratorio and lieder recital. He excelled in all these genres, and before 1920 gave classic performances of key roles in modern works, and c ...

Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, known professionally as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made h ...

Agnes Giebel Agnes Giebel (10 August 1921 – 24 April 2017) was a German classical soprano. She was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, where she lived the first years of her life. She studied at the Folkwangschule in Essen and made her first public appe ...

Ernst Haefliger Ernst Haefliger (6 July 191917 March 2007) was a Swiss tenor. Biography Haefliger was born in Davos, Switzerland, on 6 July 1919 and studied at the Wettinger Seminary and the Zürich Conservatory. Later he became a pupil of Fernando Carpi in G ...

, Ilse Hollweg,

Werner Hollweg Werner Hollweg (13 September 1936 in Solingen - 1 January 2007 in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German operatic tenor. He is best known for his interpretation of Mozart's operas. Hollweg died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic la ...

, Heinz Hoppe,

Christa Ludwig Christa Ludwig (16 March 1928 – 24 April 2021) was a German mezzo-soprano and occasional dramatic soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, lieder, oratorio, and other major religious works like masses, passions, and solos in symp ...

, Maria Müller,

Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and ...

, Ruth-Margret Pütz, Walther Pützstück,

Erna Sack Erna Dorothea Luise Sack (née Weber; 6 February 18982 March 1972) was a German coloratura soprano, known as the German Nightingale for her high vocal range. Biography Erna Weber was born in Spandau, Berlin. As a child, her voice attracted attent ...

Hanna Schwarz Hanna Schwarz (born 15 August 1943) is a German mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. In 1976 she performed the roles of Fricka and Erda in the centenary '' Jahrhundertring'' production at the Bayreuth Festival, directed by Pat ...

Franz Völker Franz Völker (31 March 1899, Neu-Isenburg, Grand Duchy of Hesse – 4 December 1965, Darmstadt, Hesse) was a dramatic tenor who enjoyed a major European career. He excelled specifically as a performer of the operas of Richard Wagner. He was d ...

Bernd Weikl Bernd Weikl (born 29 July 1942) is an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in the stage works by Richard Wagner. He also has written books and directed operas. Career Born in Vienna, he moved with his family to M ...

and

Marcel Wittrisch Marcel Wittrisch (1 October 1901 – 3 June 1955) was a popular German operatic tenor. Life and career Wittrisch was born in Antwerp, Belgium to a German family, and subsequently studied in Munich, Leipzig, and Milan. His career began in Hall ...

. Peschko also played

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. His most well known examples of this were projects with violinist

Georg Kulenkampff Alwin Georg Kulenkampff-Post (23 January 1898 – 4 October 1948) was a German virtuoso violinist. One of the most popular German concert violinists of the 1930s and 1940s, he was considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century. Kule ...

and cellists

Enrico Mainardi Enrico Mainardi (19 May 1897, in Milan – 10 April 1976, in Munich) was an Italian cellist, composer, and conductor. At the age of thirteen, in 1910, Mainardi had already begun his career as a cello virtuoso who toured the concert halls of Europ ...

and Hans Adomeit. From 1953 to 1958 Peschko was responsible for lieder, choir and church music at

Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (RB), Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerhaven). With its headquarters sited in Bremen, Radio Brem ...

. In 1958

Rolf Liebermann Rolf Liebermann (14 September 1910 – 2 January 1999), was a Swiss composer and music administrator. He served as the Artistic Director of the Hamburg State Opera from 1959 to 1973 and again from 1985 to 1988. He was also Artistic Director of ...

created a new department, lieder, at the

Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...

especially for Peschko, who would work there for the following decades. On top of working as a producer, creative artist and journalist, during this time he also invented the format '''Meister des Liedes (Masters of lieder). Peschko performed as tutor for lieder interpretations at the

Mozarteum 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 Moz ...

in Salzburg in the early 1970s. Peschko composed the musical arrangements for four poems by

Christian Morgenstern Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (6 May 1871 – 31 March 1914) was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on 7 March 1910. He worked for a while as a journalist in Berlin ...

, which were performed by singer

Helen Donath Helen Jeanette Donath (née Erwin; born July 10, 1940) is an American soprano with a career spanning fifty years. Biography She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and studied there at Del Mar College. Later she studied in New York with Paola Nov ...

and pianist Klaus Donath globally. In 1974, Peschko received the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

for his special artistic achievements. The baritone

Thomas Quasthoff Thomas Quasthoff (born 9 November 1959) is a German bass-baritone. Quasthoff has a range of musical interest from Bach cantatas, to lieder, and solo jazz improvisations. Born with severe birth defects caused by thalidomide, Quasthoff is , and has ...

was recognized and supported by Peschko early in his career.Michael Quasthoff: ''Thomas Quasthoff – Der Bariton'', Henschel Verlag, Berlin, 2006, pp. 46−47, . Peschko died at the age of 77 in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

, Germany, on September 29th 1987. He had three daughters (Franziska, Johanna, Julia) and two sons (Peter, Pedro), the latter of whom was adopted. Dancer and choreographer

Susanne Linke Susanne Linke (born 19 June 1944) is an internationally renowned German dancer and choreographer who is one of the major innovators of German Tanztheater, along with Pina Bausch and Reinhild Hoffmann. Family Susanne Linke was born in Lüneburg, G ...

is the niece of Sebastian Peschko.

Partial discography

* 1975: Heinrich Schlusnus sings lieder by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

accompanied by Peschko (

TELDEC Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

) * 1977: Heinrich Schlusnus sings lieder by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

accompanied by Peschko (

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

) * 1994: Lisa Della Casa sings lieder by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

accompanied by Peschko (Sbt) * 1999: Heinrich Schlusnus sings lieder accompanied by Peschko (Preiser) * 2002: Erna Berger sings lieder accompanied by Peschko (Orfeo d'Or) * 2002: Lisa Della Casa, ''Lieder and Arias'', accompanied by Peschko (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Electrola Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano. History On 8 May 1925 the British Gramophone Company ...

) * 2004: Grace Bumbry – early recordings, accompanied by Peschko (Deutsche Grammophon)

References

External links

* * * ,

; Heinrich Schlusnus, Peschko * , Franz Schubert; Heinrich Schlusnus, Peschko {{DEFAULTSORT:Peschko, Sebastian 1909 births 1987 deaths German classical pianists Male classical pianists Musicians from Berlin Classical accompanists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century German musicians 20th-century German male musicians