Photo: Andrea Riegel (Düsseldorf) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Wolfgang Sawallisch was the kind of conductor I deeply admire, all substance and zero showmanship. Munich-born, he led the Bavarian State Opera for decades and later the Philadelphia Orchestra, and his German repertoire, Wagner, Strauss, Schumann, was authoritative without ever being heavy-handed. He was also a superb pianist who loved accompanying singers in recital, which tells you everything about his musicianship. The drawer full of honors, from the Legion of Honour to the Bavarian Maximilian Order, reflects a lifetime of service to music. He died in 2013, and conductors of that quiet, scholarly stature feel increasingly rare to me.
Overview
Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Wolfgang Sawallisch
- Name (Japanese)
- ヴォルフガング・サヴァリッシュ
- Reading
- ゔぉるふがんぐ・さゔぁりっしゅ
- Born
- August 26, 1923 – February 22, 2013
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Boar
- Origin
- Munich, Upper Bavaria, Germany
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- conductor / classical pianist / pianist / general music director / musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Hamburg University of Music and Drama
Awards & achievements
- Bavarian Order of Merit
- Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
- Great Silver Medal of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
- 1984 Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art
- Knight of the Legion of Honour
- 1986 Bayerischer Poetentaler
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Conductor — see all → · More people from Germany →
7. About this entry
Tags
- 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.