Nikolaus Arnoncourt is a conductor, cellist, philosopher and musicologist. Biography, features of creativity and interesting facts

In the first days of the spring of 2016, the greatest Austrian cellist, musicologist and conductor Nikolaus Arnoncour passed away. Cooperating with the largest European orchestras, he found time to popularize the authentic performance and teach at the world-famous Salzburg conservatory Mozarteum. For his services, Arnonkur took fifth place in 2010 in the rating of outstanding conductors of all time, compiled by BBC Music Magazine. In addition, the name of the musician forever entered the Hall of Fame of the British magazine on classical music Gramophone.

The family of the future conductor

Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Nikolaus Arnoncourt) is a conductor whose name became a legend during his lifetime. He appeared in Berlin in 1929 in a family belonging to a noble aristocratic family. From birth, the musician was the title of count, his full name sounded like Johann Nikolaus de la Fontaine d'Arnoncourt-Unfertsagt. His mother, Countess Ladislaus von Meran, was the granddaughter of Archduke Johann of Austria, who was born in the marriage of Emperor Leopold II and Maria Luisa of Spain.

Father Nicholas was called Eberhart de la Fontaine d'Arnoncour-Unfertsagtom. He wore the title of Count and was originally from an ancient Luxembourgish-Lorraine clan. The ancestors of his grandmother on the paternal line of Julia Mitrovskaya lived in the Czech Republic. Since childhood, Eberhard dreamed of becoming a musician, but by the will of fate 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 the Countess von Meran, who subsequently gave him five children. Besides them, Eberhardt had two offspring from his first marriage.

Craze for playing the cello

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

Obtaining education, working in the Philharmonic Orchestra

After the end of the war, Nikolaus entered the Vienna Conservatoire, which he graduated in 1952. In 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 to his work. This could be called a real success, because it was extremely difficult to become a cellist in the Vienna Philharmonic. Arnonkur Nikolaus later recalled that 40 people claimed his place in the orchestra, but Karajan liked his manner of holding himself and he took it out of the competition.

Working in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra brought to Arnonkuru 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 Nikolaus's life completely cloudless. Karayan, who personally invited the talented cellist to his orchestra, soon considered a competitor in him and began to pursue a policy of planned harassment against him. It ended only in 1969, when the 40-year-old Arnoncour quit the orchestra and began to create a career as a conductor.

Marriage, the birth of children

In 1953, the Austrian conductor Nikolaus Arnoncour, 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. After getting married, she took the name of her husband von Magnus. After the daughter of the Arnonkurov, 3 sons were born. Settled a young family in a large house located in the Austrian Alps.

Creating your own ensemble

By the age of 25, Nikolaus Arnonkur had a prestigious job, a devoted wife, a good house. 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 old stringed instrument of the Baroque era, reminiscent of a cello. Learning to play on it, Nikolaus buys a few more ancient instruments, and then, together with his wife and several friends, he starts the ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien. The created collective specialized in the authentic performance of classical works of the XVI-XVIII centuries. It was the first ensemble in the world, the repertoire of which consisted of the musical heritage of the Baroque period. His rehearsals for 20 years passed in the living room of the Arnonkurov's house. In order to reproduce as accurately as possible the sound of old music, the band members had to spend a lot of time and study a huge number of scores.

Coming of popularity

Nikolaus Arnoncourt 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 creativity of Concentus Musicus Wien became popular among art lovers, musicians began a period of active performances and tours. Being on a wave of success, the ensemble concludes with a well-known German company Telefunken a profitable contract and for 15 years records hundreds of pieces of music from the Baroque era. Here are the suites of Purcell, and Bach's sonatas, and the ancient operas of Rameau and Monteverdi.

The beginning of the conductor's career

Work in the ensemble took Arnonkur so much time that he could no longer combine it with performances in the orchestra. The oil was poured into constant fire by constant conflicts with Karayan. Since the late 60's, the musician often performs along with his ensemble as a conductor and no longer sees any reason to be an ordinary cellist. After leaving the collective of Karajan, he begins to conduct not only with Concentus Musicus Wien. In 1970, Arnoncour brilliantly directed the orchestra in staging the opera "Ulysses Return to Home" at the legendary La Scala Theater. After this performance, the admirers of art became clear that a new star had flared up on the musical horizon and her name was Arnonkur Nikolaus.

Creative activity of Arnonkur in adulthood

Conductor for two decades worked closely with the Dutch harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt. As a result of this collaboration, the musicians were able to record a full cycle of Bach's cantata, which includes more than 200 works. In the late 80's, the Austrian conductor Arnonkur Nikolaus led the orchestras in the best opera theaters of the planet. In just 4 years (from 1987 to 1991) he managed to record all the works of Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart, to put in the Vienna Theater several operas. The musician 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, the repertoire of the Arnonkur expanded considerably. By the end of his life he managed to put almost all the works that aroused his interest. The conductor performed with the musical compositions of 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, whose honorary doctor had been since 2008.

Nikolaus Arnoncourt: albums, publications and awards

To get acquainted with the work of Arnonkur today it is possible due to his albums. Their number is difficult to count. A significant part of the albums was released together with the ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien, whose permanent leader was a long time conductor.

Arnonkur's authorship includes numerous musicological publications published in many authoritative music 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 the art, Nikolaus Arnoncourt was repeatedly awarded prestigious prizes. In 1997, for the promotion of academic music, the conductor was awarded the Robert Schumann Prize. Subsequently, the work of Arnonkur was marked by the Grammy and Kyoto Awards , as well as the Leipzig Bach Medal.

Leaving art and death

Arnoncourk was engaged in conducting until old age. At 85, he remained active, full of energy and creative inspiration. Excellent physical shape allowed him to withstand a busy concert schedule and close attention from journalists and art fans. Arnoncourt did not plan to retire, he had many plans for the future. However, the age took its own, and on December 15, 2015, the conductor made an official statement about the completion of his creative career. The reason for the decision so unexpected for many was the deterioration of his health due to a serious illness.

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