Felix Prohaska (16 May 191229 March 1987) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and professor of musicology in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Education

Felix Prohaska, born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, was the son of the composer and professor Carl Prohaska (1869–1927). He received his music education from his father; he studied piano with

Eduard Steuermann Eduard Steuermann (June 18, 1892, Sambor, Austria-Hungary – November 11, 1964, New York City) was an Austrian-born American pianist and composer. Steuermann studied piano with Vilém Kurz at the Lemberg Conservatory and Ferruccio Busoni in ...

and music theory with Egon Kornauth and

Hans Gál Hans Gál Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (5 August 1890 – 3 October 1987) was an Austrian composer, pedagogue, musicologist, and author, who emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1938. Life Gál was born to a Jewish family in ...

Career

Felix Prohaska started his career as a répétiteur at the opera of

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

(1936–1939), and subsequently worked as a conductor at the opera houses in

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

(1939–1941),

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

(1941–1943),

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and at the

Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

(1946–1955). From 1955 to 1961 Prohaska occupied the position of assistant music director and conductor at the

Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt () is the municipal theatre company of Frankfurt, the largest city of Hesse Germany. The name dates back to 1919. The company is structured today in two organisations, Oper Frankfurt for opera, and Schauspiel Frankfur ...

. From 1961 to 1969 he was the director of the Akademie/Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover and held a position as professor for musicology until 1975. Prohaska conducted at the Vienna Volksoper (1964–1967) and at the

Staatsoper Hannover Hanover State Opera () is a German opera company based in Hanover, the state capital of Lower Saxony. The company is resident in the Hanover Opera House (), and is part of a publicly-funded umbrella performing arts organisation called Hanover S ...

(1965–1974). For a short time he also taught at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

. Recordings with Felix Prohaska conducting music by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

and

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

were issued by

Vanguard Classics Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a nu ...

. Felix Prohaska died in Vienna in 1987.

Family

Felix Prohaska was the son of Carl Prohaska and the grandfather of the singers

Anna Prohaska Anna Prohaska (born June 27, 1983) is an Austrian-British lyric soprano. She lives in Berlin. Career Anna Prohaska studied in Berlin at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music. Prohaska made her debut in 2002 at the Komische Oper in Harry Kupfer’s ...

and Daniel Prohaska.

Awards

* Walter Gieseking medal of Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Theater HannoverRedaktionsbüro Harenberg. Knaurs Prominentenlexikon 1980. Die persönlichen Daten der Prominenz aus Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur und Gesellschaft. Droemer Knaur: München/Zürich (1979) Chapter "Prohaska," p. 356

References

Sources

Felix Prohaska biography at bach-cantatas.com
* * (death date 24 January 1991) 1912 births 1987 deaths Austrian male conductors (music) Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Musicians from Vienna 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian male musicians Pupils of Eduard Steuermann {{Austria-conductor-stub