Born: September 16, 1899 - Budapest, Hungary
Died: September 10, 1975 - Salzburg, Austria

Hans Swarowsky was celebrated as both a conductor and as a teacher. He studied composition in Vienna with Schoenberg and Webern and conducting with Richard Strauss, Felix Weingartner and Clemens Krauss.

Hans Swarowsky held positions in Stuttgart, Gera, Hamburg (1932), Berlin (1934), Zürich (1937-1940), Krakow (1944-1946), Graz (1947-1950) and at the Vienna State Opera (1957). He was chief conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, from 1957 to 1959. From 1959 he was chief conductor of Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and appeared also as guest conductor of the Vienna State Opera.

Perhaps Hans Swarowsky's fame rests most with his reputation as a teacher. For many years Professor Swarowsky held master classes in conducting at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where he was head of conducting from 1946. Famous students of Swarowsky's include Claudio Abbado, Albert Rosen, Jesús López-Cobos, Bruno Weil, Mariss Jansons, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Zubin Mehta. Many aspiring young conductors compete in the Hans Swarowsky International Conductors Competition, held in Vienna.

Hans Swarowsky made many recordings with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. His recordings appear on the Supraphon, Concert Hall, Nonesuch, Erato, Preiser, Vox and Vanguard labels. He recorded a complete Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Prague National Theatre Orchestra.

Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 1994; Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by Eric Spicer & Aryeh Oron (August 2001); Willem van Erk (June 2006)

Hans Swarowsky: Short Biography | Wiener Akademie Kammerchor | Wiener Sängerknaben | Recordings

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