Around the Music Festival

Austrian violinist and conductor Günter Pichler died on the 24th in a car accident at the age of 85. He founded the Alban Berg Quartet in 1970 as its first violinist, establishing it as one of the world’s leading string quartets. He also worked as a conductor from 1989.

He was born in Kufstein, in northern Austria. At the age of 15, he entered the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts (now the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts), and at 18, he was invited by Wolfgang Sawallisch to become the concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Three years later, at the age of 21, he was recruited by Herbert von Karajan to join the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1970, he formed the Alban Berg Quartet and served as its first violinist until its dissolution in 2008. The four members are said to have revolutionized the role of string quartets by their exceptional ensemble playing, highly accomplished performances, and their willingness to embrace contemporary music rather than resting on the laurels of Viennese tradition.

He later made his conducting debut in 1989, conducting the Vienna Chamber Orchestra at the Vienna Konzerthaus. After that, he made numerous guest appearances with various orchestras. In Japan, he served as principal guest conductor of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (2001-2006).

He also served as a professor at his alma mater from 1963 to 2009, and at the Cologne University of Music and Dance from 1993 to 2012. In 2007, he was appointed head of the chamber music department at the Sofia Conservatory of Music in Madrid, demonstrating his dedication to mentoring younger generations and producing many successful musicians.

PHOTO：Orchestra Haydn