Status: 25/08/2023, 14:38 p.m.
By: Markus Thiel
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As a grand seigneur at the podium of the Bavarian State Orchestra – that's how his Munich audience knew him. © Anne Kirchbach
Hardly any other conductor has left his mark on the Bayerische Staatsoper as he has. On August 26, 100 years ago, Wolfgang Sawallisch was born. An appreciation.
This has happened again and again. For example, in the second act of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde": the trench of the National Theatre began to glow. Where there was usually careful control, the music suddenly ran hot, reaching the highest energy levels. Sounds that accumulated to critical mass. Even in the funeral march of the "Twilight of the Gods", from which something nihilistic, devastating, definitive spoke every time, so that one's blood froze. Or think of the final act of "The Flying Dutchman", which was turned into a nerve-wracking thriller. Hardly anyone else was able to demonstrate all this with such intensity.
Above all, however, it didn't really suit Wolfgang Sawallisch at all. To this grand seigneur among conductors, to that hyper-correct, consummately polite artist, who always hurried to the podium with his back pressed and his hair severely combed back, exuding the authority of a respectable gentleman of the old school. At the podium, of course, he was also able to go over the top and at the same time, that was his art, never lose track. "I'm not the type to leave something to chance," Sawallisch once said in a personal conversation. "I want everything to be very impulsive, but still controlled." Which brought him to his credo: "I believe that discipline is an indispensable prerequisite for keeping track of connections." And anyone who knew Sawallisch will hear his fine, cultivated Munich dialect in these sentences.
In 1971 Sawallisch became general music director of the Staatsoper
He was born here 100 years ago on this Saturday. He grew up in Munich, studied on the Isar and met his future wife Mechthild. And he has returned to this city after holding executive positions in Aachen, Wiesbaden, Cologne, Vienna and Hamburg. In 1971 he was General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera, later he was even Opera Director for a time. In 1992, Sawallisch said goodbye to his self-declared home. And if you look back on his two decades in Munich, you have to admit that it was the golden era of the State Opera. From a purely musical point of view, however, Sawallisch's taste in directing did not necessarily coincide with the more recent staging style.
His favorite composers, however, coincided with the Munich household gods. Strauss, Wagner, Mozart, that's where Sawallisch's central repertoire lay. And often he conducted all three within a month, sometimes even within a week. The boss was almost over-present in Munich. What had the inestimable advantage was that the Bavarian State Orchestra was influenced by him, they knew each other as if they were in the closest family circle. A "Don Giovanni" with only one test of communication? No problem under Sawallisch, on the contrary: it could give rise to ideas that put Mozart cities such as Vienna and Salzburg to shame.
Classic career start as a répétiteur
Stars regularly appeared on the stage of the National Theatre because they appreciated this musical continuity and level. Sawallisch was always able to rely on greats such as Margaret Price, Brigitte Fassbaender, Lucia Popp, Peter Schreier, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Kurt Moll. Above all, they all appreciated the inspiring craftsman Sawallisch. They felt safe with him, and under him they were able to improve their already existing top form by one or two revolutions.
Sawallisch never considered himself a star – although he was revered there like a god of music, thanks to his frequent guest appearances in Japan. Rather, he embodied the Kapellmeister in the best, classical sense. Someone who started out as a répétiteur at the piano, empathizing with the scores and learning to understand what singers need up there on stage. Sawallisch was never a vain self-realizer, one who spent himself for the sake of effect. Servant of music, he exemplified this ethos. And perhaps soon no longer fit into a musical world that craved glamour and outward appearances. Although, after his departure from Munich, Sawallisch embarked on a symphonic second career as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra – even in the USA, the demanding, wise educator was soon at his feet. From 1993 to 2003, Sawallisch held this post.
Wolfgang-Sawallisch-Stiftung in Grassau
It was also during this time that his greatest stroke of fate occurred: in 1998, at the age of 77, his beloved Mechthild, who was also something of a life pilot, died. Although Sawallisch continued to make guest appearances with the world's great ensembles, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, he withdrew more and more to the Chiemgau. To his beautiful house above Grassau, which admittedly did not take him out of the world until his death in 2013: In the market town, he founded the Wolfgang Sawallisch Foundation, which is still dedicated to young musicians today. And he also continued to participate in musical life – via radio and TV broadcasts. Those who visited him were amazed at how much Sawallisch knew. How he also criticized some things and how he was able to judge singers of the latest generation.
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In his frailty, he soon only wanted to show himself in private. The farewell to the stage, one felt, he had classified it, but never quite got over it emotionally. But he liked to receive guests. And, the outstanding pianist that he was, at some point he took on all of Haydn's sonatas. "There's a slow set, I play it every day. Because I always think to myself that there must be another beat that is even more beautiful than I could have imagined so far."