Leopold Wlach (9 September 1902 – 7 May 1956) was an Austrian clarinetist and clarinet teacher. He was solo clarinetist at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

/with the

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

Life

Born in Vienna, Wlach first studied clarinet at the

Vienna Music Academy 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 ...

with Franz Bartolomey, later with Viktor Polatschek. While still a student, he participated as bass clarinettist in the 1924 premiere of

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

's ''Six Songs after Poems by

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (; 3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which h ...

''. With an ensemble he undertook a world tour in 1926 two years later Wlach obtained a position as clarinettist with the

/the

. As a result of the emigration of his former teacher and orchestral colleague Viktor Polatschek to the United States, Wlach switched to the solo clarinet and took over his teaching position at the Vienna Music Academy in 1931. His pupils included Alfred Prinz, Alfred Boskovsky and

Karl Österreicher Karl Österreicher (3 January 1923 – 11 March 1995) was an Austrian conductor and music teacher. Life Born in Rohrbach an der Gölsen, Lower Austria, Austrian studied clarinet as well as conducting with Hans Swarowsky, later also with Alfre ...

. Wlach was a co-founder of the "Wind Association of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra". Wlach was awarded the "Golden Medal" by the Vienna Mozart Community in 1954. In the same year, the clarinettist suffered a heart attack and, according to his pupil Alfred Prinz, was "no longer fit for duty". Prinz then replaced Wlach in the "Bläservereinigung" and, after winning an audition, succeeded him as principal clarinettist of the Vienna Philharmonic. Wlach died in Vienna on 7 May 1956 at the age of 53.

Awards

* 1954 Golden Medal of the Mozartgemeinde Wien

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wlach, Leopold Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna Austrian classical clarinetists 1902 births 1956 deaths Musicians from Vienna