Photo: OboeCrack / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Heinz Holliger, born in 1939 and still working, almost annoys me with how much he mastered. Grove Music Online credits him with raising the oboe's whole standing and expanding its repertoire, and that alone would be a career. But he also composes, conducts and plays piano, and the prize list, Léonie Sonning, Ernst von Siemens, is the absolute summit of classical music. Most people would settle for being the world's finest oboist. He treated it as a starting point. As someone who can barely stick with one thing, I find that bottomless curiosity less relatable than awe-inspiring.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Heinz Holliger
- Name (Japanese)
- ハインツ・ホリガー
- Reading
- はいんつ・ほりがー
- Born
- May 21, 1939 (age 87)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Rabbit
- Origin
- Langenthal, Canton of Berne, Switzerland
- Occupation
- conductor / composer / oboist / musicologist / university teacher
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 1987 Léonie Sonning Music Prize
- 1991 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize
- 2017 Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau
- 2018 Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order
- 2016 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1988 Frankfurter Musikpreis
- Pour le Mérite
- 2022 Robert Schumann Prize for Poetry and Music
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Partita | — | |
| Notable work | Gesänge der Frühe | — | |
| Notable work | Schneewittchen | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Heinz Holliger born?
Born May 21, 1939 (age 87).
Where is Heinz Holliger from?
Heinz Holliger is from Langenthal, Canton of Berne, Switzerland.
What does Heinz Holliger do?
Heinz Holliger works as conductor, composer, oboist, musicologist, university teacher.
What is Heinz Holliger known for?
Notable works include Partita, Gesänge der Frühe, Schneewittchen.
Conductor — see all → · Composer — see all → · More people from Switzerland →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.