Nikolaus Harnoncourt - conductor, cellist, philosopher and musicologist. Biography, features of creativity and interesting facts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the early days of spring 2016, the greatest Austrian cellist, musicologist and conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt passed away. Collaborating with the largest orchestras in Europe, he found time to popularize authentic performance and teach at the world-famous Salzburg Mozarteum Conservatory. For his services, Harnoncourt was ranked fifth in 2010 in the ranking of the greatest conductors of all time, compiled by BBC Music Magazine. In addition, the name of the musician was forever included in the Hall of Fame of the British classical music magazine Gramophone.

The family of the future conductor

Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Nikolaus Arnoncourt) - conductor, whose name became a legend during his lifetime. He was born in Berlin in 1929 in a family that belonged to a noble aristocratic family. From birth, the musician bore the title of count, his full name was Johann Nikolaus de la Fontaine d'Harnoncourt-Unferzagt. His mother, Countess Ladisla von Meran, was the granddaughter of the ArchdukeJohann of Austria, born in the marriage of Emperor Leopold II and Maria Louise of Spain.

Nikolaus's father's name was Eberhart de la Fontaine d'Harnoncourt-Unferzagt. He bore the title of count and was from an ancient Luxembourgish-Lorraine family. The ancestors of his paternal grandmother Yuliya Mittrovskaya lived in the Czech Republic. Since childhood, Eberhard dreamed of becoming a musician, but by the will of fate he was forced to get a technical education. After graduation, he moved from Vienna to Berlin and got a job as a civil engineer. Here he married Countess von Meran, who later bore him five children. In addition to them, Eberhard had two offspring from his first marriage.

Passion for playing the cello

When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, the Arnoncourt family moved to Graz, where the family estate of Ladislai was located. Shortly after the Anschluss of Austria, in 1939, their property was nationalized, and all the privileges that the aristocrats had long enjoyed were taken away. Despite the hard times, Eberhard and Ladisla raised their children in love and care. All of them were taught to play musical instruments, but later only Nikolaus Harnoncourt became a musician. The conductor fell in love with the cello from early childhood and did not want to part with it under any circumstances. One of his brothers, Philip, chose religion over music and became a Catholic theologian, and the other, Franz, made a brilliant career as a lawyer.

Education, work in the Philharmonic Orchestra

After the end of the warNikolaus entered the Vienna Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1952. In his student days, the future conductor worked as a cello player in the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. After graduating from the conservatory, the 23-year-old musician was noticed by the head of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan, and personally invited him to work. This could be called a real success, because it was extremely difficult to become a cellist at the Vienna Philharmonic. Arnoncourt Nikolaus later recalled that 40 people applied for his place in the orchestra, but Karajan liked his demeanor and took him out of competition.

Work in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra brought Arnoncourt solid earnings, touring performances around the world, regular participation in the prestigious festival in Salzburg, respect and honor. However, it is impossible to call this period in the life of Nikolaus completely cloudless. Karajan, who personally invited the talented cellist to join his orchestra, soon saw him as a competitor and began to pursue a policy of systematic harassment against him. It ended only in 1969, when the 40-year-old Harnoncourt retired from the orchestra and set about creating a career as a conductor.

Marriage, having children

In 1953, the Austrian conductor Nikolaus Arnoncourt, whose work is considered in this publication, married the violinist Alice Hoffelner, who studied with him at the conservatory. In 1954, the couple had a daughter, Elizabeth, who later became a famous opera singer. When she got married, she tookhusband's surname von Magnus. After the daughter, the Arnoncourts had 3 sons. A young family settled in a large house located in the Austrian Alps.

Creating your own ensemble

By the age of 25, Nikolaus Harnoncourt had a prestigious job, a devoted wife, a good home. It would seem that you can calm down and enjoy life. However, the cellist was not going to stop there. In 1953, he acquired a viola de gambo, an ancient baroque stringed instrument resembling a cello. Having learned to play it, Nikolaus bought several more ancient instruments, after which, together with his wife and several friends, he founded the Concentus Musicus Wien ensemble. The created team specialized in the authentic performance of classical works of the 16th-18th centuries. It was the first ensemble in the world whose repertoire consisted of the musical heritage of the Baroque era. His rehearsals for 20 years took place in the living room of the Harnoncourt house. In order to reproduce the sound of ancient musical works as accurately as possible, the band members had to spend a lot of time and study a huge number of scores.

The arrival of popularity

Nikolaus Harnoncourt was not sure of the success of his project, so he combined rehearsals with work in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. However, to his surprise, the work of Concentus Musicus Wien became popular among art lovers, the musicians began a period of active performances and tours. Being on the wave of success, the ensemble concludes a lucrative contract with the famous German company Telefunken and for 15 years has been recording hundreds of musical works of the Baroque era. Here are Purcell's suites, and sonatas by Bach, and old operas by Rameau and Monteverdi.

The beginning of a conductor's career

Work in the ensemble began to take so much of Harnoncourt's time that he could no longer combine it with performances in the orchestra. Constant conflicts with Karajan added fuel to the fire. Since the end of the 60s, the musician often performs with his ensemble as a conductor and no longer sees the point in being an ordinary cellist. After leaving the Karajan team, he began to conduct not only with the Concentus Musicus Wien. In 1970, Harnoncourt brilliantly led the orchestra in the production of the opera "Return of Ulysses" at the legendary theater La Scala. After this performance, it became clear to art fans that a new star had lit up in the musical sky and its name was Arnoncourt Nikolaus.

Harnoncourt's creative activity in adulthood

The conductor worked closely with the Dutch harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt for two decades. As a result of this collaboration, the musicians were able to record a complete cycle of Bach's cantatas, which includes more than 200 pieces. In the late 1980s, the Austrian conductor Arnoncourt Nikolaus led orchestras in the world's best opera houses. In just 4 years (from 1987 to 1991) he managed to record all the works of Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart, put them in the Viennatheater several operas. The musician has collaborated with the Philharmonic Orchestras of Berlin, Vienna and Amsterdam, performed together with such talented pianists as Lan Lan and Friedrich Gulda. In subsequent years, Harnoncourt's repertoire expanded significantly. By the end of his life, he managed to stage almost all the works that aroused his interest. The conductor performed with musical compositions by Haydn, Vivaldi, Handel, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Offenbach, Wagner, Dvorak, Brahms and other classics. In addition to conducting, he found time to teach at the Mozarteum Conservatory, of which he has been an honorary doctor since 2008

Nikolaus Harnoncourt: albums, publications and awards

You can get acquainted with the work of Harnoncourt today thanks to his albums. Their number is difficult to count. A significant part of the albums was released together with the Concentus Musicus Wien ensemble, whose permanent leader was the conductor for a long time.

Harnoncourt is the author of numerous musicological publications published in many authoritative musical publications. You can read the articles of the famous conductor in the collection "My Contemporaries Bach, Mozart, Monteverdi", published in Russian in 2005.

For outstanding achievements in art, Nikolaus Harnoncourt was repeatedly awarded prestigious awards. In 1997, the conductor was awarded the Robert Schumann Prize for the popularization of academic music. Subsequently, the work of Harnoncourt was awarded the Grammy awards and"Kyoto", as well as the Leipzig Bach medal.

Departure from art and death

Harnoncourt conducted conducting until old age. At 85, he remained active, full of strength and creative inspiration. Excellent physical shape allowed him to withstand a busy concert schedule and close attention from journalists and art lovers. Harnoncourt did not plan to retire, he had many plans for the future. However, age took its toll, and on December 15, 2015, the conductor made an official statement about the end of his creative career. The reason for such an unexpected decision for many was the deterioration of his he alth due to a serious illness.

Arnoncourt died on March 5, 2016 in the Austrian town of St. Georgen im Attergau. In the last moments of his life, his wife, children and grandchildren were with him. The great conductor and musician lived for 86 years. The popularity of Harnoncourt throughout the world was so great that all the major TV channels, radio stations and newspapers of the planet reported on his death. The heart of an outstanding conductor has stopped beating, but his music will forever be preserved in audio recordings, allowing future generations to enjoy the beauty of classical music in an authentic performance.