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Photo of Heinz Holliger

Photo: OboeCrack / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Heinz Holliger

ハインツ・ホリガー / はいんつ・ほりがー

Conductor from Switzerland

May 21, 1939 (age 87) ・ Langenthal, Canton of Berne, Switzerland

  • Canton of Berne
  • conductor
  • composer
  • oboist

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.

Overview

Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, oboist, conductor and pianist. Known for his versatility and virtuosic technique, Grove Music Online credits him with raising the prominence of the oboe and enlarging its repertoire.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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
Blood type
Private
Height
Private
Agency
Private
Occupation
conductor / composer / oboist / musicologist / university teacher

2. Background

Elementary school
Private
Junior high
Private
High school
Private
University
Private

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

3. Relationships

Spouse
Private
Children
Private
Parents
Private
Siblings
Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

CategoryTitleRoleYear
Notable workPartita
Notable workGesänge der Frühe
Notable workSchneewittchen

Conductor — see all → · Composer — see all → · More people from Switzerland →

7. About this entry

Tags

  • Canton of Berne
  • conductor
  • composer
  • oboist
Last updated
2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.