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Felix WeingartnerAustrian conductor, composer, pianist
Date of Birth: 02.06.1863
Country:  Switzerland |
Content:
Biography of Felix Weingartner
Felix Weingartner was an Austrian conductor, composer, and pianist. He was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia) and in 1868, his family moved to Graz.
Early Career
Weingartner studied under Wilhelm Mayer, also known as W.A. Rémy, who was famous for teaching Ferruccio Busoni as well. In 1881, Weingartner moved to Leipzig, where he initially studied philosophy but soon realized that music interested him more. In 1883, he enrolled in the conservatory, where he had Franz Liszt as one of his teachers. Liszt helped Weingartner stage his first opera, 'Sakuntala', which was released in 1884. Unfortunately, the debut performance did not go well due to a lack of synchronization between the orchestra and singers.
Opera and Symphony
In 1884, Weingartner became the director of the Königsberg Opera. From 1885 to 1887, he worked as a Kapellmeister in Danzig. He also worked in Hamburg and Mannheim for some time, and from 1891 to 1911, he served as a Kapellmeister at the Royal Opera in Berlin, conducting symphonic concerts in parallel. Later, Weingartner settled in Munich. In 1902, he conducted a complete cycle of Beethoven's symphonies at the Festival of Mainz. From 1908 to 1911, he held a leading conductor position at the Vienna Hofoper and also conducted the Vienna Philharmonic until 1927. In 1912, he returned to Hamburg as a Kapellmeister and later became the music director in Darmstadt.
Later Career and Legacy
Weingartner also worked with the Boston Opera Company from 1912 to 1914. In 1919, he became the conductor of the Vienna Volksoper but left the position a year later to become a professor at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. From 1927 to 1934, he directed the Sinfonieorchester Basel. Weingartner's last concert took place in London in 1940, and he passed away in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1942.
Weingartner was known for being the first conductor to record all nine of Beethoven's symphonies as part of a commercial project. In 1935, he conducted the world premiere of Georges Bizet's 'Symphony in C'. While his conducting style did not stand out from the popular styles of the time, he aimed to interpret music in accordance with the composer's original intention.
Throughout his life, Weingartner was married five times, including to actress Roxo Betty Kalisch, mezzo-soprano Lucille Marcel, and even Baroness Feodora von Dreifus. He mentored several notable conductors, such as Paul Sacher, Charles Houdret, Georg Tintner, and Josef Krips.
