Michael Schneider (born 10 August 1953) is a German flautist, recorder player, conductor and academic teacher. He is especially connected with later Baroque repertoire such as the works of

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to be ...

and with early Classical repertoire such as the works of

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...

, and founded the orchestra La Stagione to perform and record such repertoire.

Career

Schneider was born in

Nordhorn Nordhorn (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Nothoorn'', or ''Notthoarn'', ''Netthoarn,'' and Dutch: ''Noordhoorn'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim, located in the southwest corner of the state, near th ...

. He studied flute and recorder at the

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

. In 1978 he was a winner of the ARD International Music Competition in the recorder category.Michael Schneider
University of Music and Performing Arts, Frankfurt For

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

s he founded in 1979 the ensemble "Camerata Köln" (Camerata Cologne) and in 1988 the orchestra "La Stagione". He conducted both in performances and many recordings.Discography
La Stagione They appeared at the Handel Festival in Göttingen, the Handel Festival in Halle, the

Bachfest Leipzig The Bachfest Leipzig (Leipzig Bach Festival) is a music festival which takes place annually, in the month of June, in the city of Leipzig, where J. S. Bach worked as the Thomaskantor from 1723 until his death in 1750. The current artistic direct ...

, the

Schwetzingen Festival The Schwetzingen Festival (German: Schwetzinger Festspiele, now Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele) is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany. In 1952, the broadca ...

and the

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (SHMF) is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist and conductor Justus Fr ...

, among others.Michael Schneider (Conductor, Recorder)
bach-cantatas.com 2007 Schneider also conducted orchestras such as the

Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (North West German Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Herford. Founded in 1950, the orchestra is one of the ''Landesorchester'' of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, along with the ''Philhar ...

, the

Cappella Coloniensis Cappella Coloniensis is a German orchestra founded by the West German Radio in Cologne in 1954 for the purpose of introducing historically informed performance of Baroque music to the listening public. In 1998 the orchestra received the Georg Phi ...

, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Chamber Orchestra. In 1980 Schneider was appointed professor for recorder at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

. Since 1993 he has been professor of the University of Music and Performing Arts, Frankfurt, where he established in 2005 a class for "Historische Interpretationspraxis" (historically informed interpretation). Since 2005 he has served as a vice president of the university. In 2011 he appeared with about 50 students and teachers from the university at the

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

Eberbach Abbey Eberbach Abbey (German: Kloster Eberbach) is a former Cistercian monastery in Eltville in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its Romanesque architecture, Romanesque and Gothic (architecture), early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the m ...

, including first a variety of chamber music concerts in smaller halls of the former monastery, performed by a piano quintet, a string quartet and a trumpet trio, and finally a semi-staged presentation of

Alessandro Stradella Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella (Bologna, 3 July 1643 – Genoa, 25 February 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling career as a freelance composer, writing on commission, and collaborating with ...

's oratorio ''San Giovanni Battista'' in the Basilika.

Selected recordings

Schneider recorded especially the works of Telemann, both as a player and conductor, including his wind concertos (6 volumes), recorder concertos, orchestral suites, Trauermusik (funeral music) for Karl VII, ''Trauermusik'' for Hamburg's mayor Garlieb Sillem and the ''Hamburgische Kapitänsmusik'' (1755). He recorded the oratorio ''Der aus der Löwengrube erettete Daniel'', the comic opera '' Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho'', the opera ''Damon'' and the one-act '' Pimpinone''. From the Italian Baroque, he recorded Stradella's Christmas cantatas,

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

's recorder concertos, Geminiani concertos, and a Scarlatti recital with Dimitri Egorov. He conducted the operas ''Piramo e Tisbe'' by

Johann Adolph Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

and

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's '' Rodelinda''. He recorded Bach's solo cantatas for bass with

Gotthold Schwarz Gotthold Schwarz (born 2 May 1952) is a German Bass-baritone and conductor. Based in Leipzig, he started as a member of the Thomanerchor and has conducted the Gewandhausorchester. Between 2016 and 2021, he was the 17th Thomaskantor after Johann ...

, the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

and La Stagione, BWV 56, 82 and 158.Bach: Kantaten · Cantatas BWV 82, BWV 158, BWV 56
bach-cantatas.com Schneider's recordings of early classical repertoire include the hugely underrated Magnificats of both

and

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...

on an amazing if not electrifying Capriccio CD, Mozart with Ruth Ziesak,

Simon Le Duc Simon Le Duc, more commonly Leduc (Paris, 15 January 1742 22 January 1777), was a French violinist, soloist at the Concert Spirituel, music publisher and composer. His younger brother, Pierre Le Duc (1755–1818), was also a violinist. Leduc was a ...

's symphonies,

Carl Friedrich Abel Carl Friedrich Abel (22 December 1723 – 20 June 1787) was a German composer of the pre-Classical period (music), Classical era. He was a renowned player of the viol, viola da gamba, and produced significant compositions for that instrument ...

's flute concertos, chamber music, piano concertos, symphonies,

Franz Ignaz Beck Franz Ignaz Beck (20 February 1734 – 31 December 1809) was a German violinist, composer, Conducting, conductor and music teacher. He spent the greater part of his life in France, where he became director of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. Po ...

's symphonies,

Georg Anton Benda Georg Anton Benda (; 30 June 17226 November 1795) was a Bohemian composer, violinist and ''Kapellmeister'' of the classical period. Biography Born into a family of notable musicians in Old Benatek (today Benátky nad Jizerou), Bohemia, he st ...

's harpsichord concertos, Matthias Georg Monn's cello concertos and Josef Martin Kraus' Requiem,

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's opera '' L'anima del filosofo'' and

Ignaz Holzbauer Ignaz Jakob Holzbauer (18 September 1711 – 7 April 1783) was an Austrian composer of symphony, symphonies, concertos, operas, and chamber music, and a member of the Mannheim school. His aesthetic style is in line with that of the ''Sturm und Dran ...

's '' Günther von Schwarzburg''.

Awards

In 2000 Schneider was awarded the Telemann Prize of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. His recording of Telemann's opera ''Damon'' with La Stagione was the "Critic's Choice" of

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

in 1998.Telemann: Damon / Michael Schneider
,

La Stagione Frankfurt La Stagione Frankfurt is a German ensemble of Baroque music, Baroque and Classical period (music), classical music, adept at historically informed performance. History The ensemble La Stagione Frankfurt was founded in 1988 by the German flautist ...

arkivmusic.com 1997

References

External links

* * * (accessed 1 April 2013)
Michael Schneider

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Michael German male conductors (music) German recorder players Academic staff of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts 1953 births Living people People from Nordhorn Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians 21st-century German flautists Academic staff of the Berlin University of the Arts