Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch (born
August 26,
1923) is a
German conductor and
pianist.
He was born in
Munich, and began his career at the opera house in
Augsburg. In 1953 he conducted the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. When he debuted at the
Bayreuth Festspielhaus conducting
Tristan und Isolde in 1957, he was the youngest conductor ever to appear there as well. From 1960 to 1970 he was Principal Conductor of the
Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and from 1971 to 1992 was Music Director of the
Bavarian State Opera. From 1993 to 2002 he was Music Director of the
Philadelphia Orchestra where he is now conductor laureate. He made a
quadrophonic stereo album (probably the only one ever made) of Mozart's
The Magic Flute in 1973 for
EMI, starring
Peter Schreier as Tamino,
Walter Berry as Papageno,
Edda Moser as the Queen of the Night,
Anneliese Rothenberger as Pamina, and
Kurt Moll as Sarastro.
As a pianist, he has accompanied a number of prominent singers in
lieder, including
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.
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Biography at allmusic.com
