琉森音樂節歷史名演 Vol.10～許奈德罕 Lucerne Festival Historic Performances Vol. X Wolfgang Schneiderhan plays Mozart, Henze & Martin

An outstanding violinist of the twentieth century: Wolfgang Schneiderhan, born in Vienna
in 1915, was concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic for many years before turning to his
solo career entirely. As a chamber musician – for instance with his Schneiderhan Quartet
or in the trio with Edwin Fischer and Enrico Mainardi – he also proved to be influential.
Schneiderhan was one of the defining artists in the history of the Lucerne Festival:
between 1949 and 1986 he gave an amazing forty-two concerts; as Georg Kulenkampff's
successor, he directed the masterclasses over several decades; and in 1956, together with his
former student Rudolf Baumgartner, he founded the Lucerne Festival Strings.

Although Schneiderhan possessed enormous technical prowess, he never entered the territory
of pure virtuoso concertos or sensational solo pieces. Instead, his dexterity always underpinned
a well-articulated tone, a cultivated breath of modulation and a highly differentiated
dynamic palette; the natural and genuine nature of his playing was, justifiably, praised again
and again. Schneiderhan's "house gods" were Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, but he was also a
knowledgeable and committed champion of twentieth century composers, from Boris Blacher,
Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Rolf Liebermann through to Frank Martin and Igor Stravinsky.
The range of Schneiderhan's repertoire is also displayed in these three Lucerne live recordings,
now released for the first time. His commitment for the music of his time becomes
particularly evident: he performs Henze's highly virtuosic First Violin Concerto (which he
would go on to record on disc as well, with the composer conducting) alongside Martin's
Magnificat. The Swiss composer had composed this unusually scored work, which one
year later would be expanded into his Maria-Triptychon, for Schneiderhan and his wife, the
soprano Irmgard Seefried – the Lucerne live recording of the world premiere with the two
dedicatees therefore represents an exceptional archive discovery. The early recording of
Mozart's final violin concerto on the other hand shows Schneiderhan as a representative
of the Viennese Mozart tradition. Here, his partner at the podium of the Swiss Festival
Orchestra is Paul Hindemith who can be experienced as a conductor of classical repertoire.
The 32-page booklet in three languages provides extensive background information on
Wolfgang Schneiderhan in Lucerne, and also features photos from the festival archives published
here for the very first time.

In cooperation with audite, LUCERNE FESTIVAL presents the "Historic Performances"
series featuring outstanding concert recordings of artists who have shaped the festival
throughout its history. The aim of this CD edition is to rediscover treasures – most of
which have not been released previously – from the first six decades of the festival, which
was founded in 1938 with a special gala concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini. These
recordings have been made available by the archives of SRF Swiss Radio and Television,
which has broadcast the Lucerne concerts from the outset. Painstakingly re-mastered and
supplemented with photos and materials from the LUCERNE FESTIVAL archive, they represent
a sonic history of the festival.