Posted on 03/31/2021 9:40:43 AM PDT by RitchieAprile
Cellist Ottomar Borwitzky, who spent 37 years as first principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic, has died aged 90. Born in Hamburg in 1930, Borwitzky dropped out of school to become solo cellist of the city’s Radio Symphony Orchestra aged just 17. From there he was appointed first principal cellist of the Hamburg Opera in 1954 and then, in 1956, with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Borwitzky joined the orchestra on the same day Herbert von Karajan’s position as its principal conductor was made permanent and retired in 1993, four years into the tenure of Claudio Abbado. Borwitzky was a founding member of the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic and joined the orchestra’s Karajan Academy in 1979.
Borwitzky’s death comes only a month after that of Wolfgang Boettcher, principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic between 1963 and 1976.
In a statement, current Berlin Philharmonic cellist Knut Weber said: ‘Ottomar Borwitzky was a musical personality of extraordinary charisma. He played with an intensity that gave expression to even the briefest musical phrase. His sound was flawless, yet always lively. Through his skill, musicality and incomparable charisma, he was an inspiration to the orchestra’s cello section for decades. In a personal capacity, he was gracious, humorous and always willing to share his immense knowledge with others. With Ottomar Borwitzky we lose a key musician of the Karajan era. We will not forget him.”
Ping
I watched Herbert Van Karajan conduct the BP (with Ottomar Borwitzky) as they performed Beethoven’s 5th and Prokoviev’s 5th in October 1988. Turned out to be the last time he ever conducted Beethoven, as he died the next year. It was sheer perfection.
There is a built up hunger for a couple of worthwhile diversions. Other choices of live classical music could include: The Rites of Spring by Stravinsky
Spring by Vivaldi, The Trout Quintet by Franz Schubert.
Sleepers Awake! by JS Bach. etc. etc.
Nice to hear from someone with culture in this dark world.
Thanks for posting.
ML/NJ
Oh noes. We gotta stamp out this symbol of white oppression. He'll be replaced with a pair of Ethiopian drummers, using native-made wooden drums stretched with antelope skins.
Some universities in England are starting to say
“Sheet Music” or having to learn how to read music is....
wait for it....RACIST!!
Tell that to people like Quincy Jones, who learned how to sight read in his teens. Professional entertainers like Count Bassie, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson depended on Quincy’s arrangements to make themselves look and sound good.
Oh my, gave me a belly laugh! thanks. :)
And the Heavenly Orchestra gets even better.
If someone who plays the cello is a cellist, does that mean that somebody who eats jello is a jellist?
After my grandson’s violin lesson we went to the BW auditorium to listen to the orchestra perform The Rites of Spring. He sat on my lap and enjoyed the concert. There is a point where things get very quiet and then the orchestra explodes and he jumped. He loved it. We are also lucky in Cleveland to have a great classical music station in WCLV.
RIP.
Everybody seems to be dying lately.
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