Michel Schwalbé

Michel Schwalbé (27 October 1919 – 8 October 2012) was a French violinist of Polish origin.

Grave at the Jüdischer Friedhof Heerstraße Berlin

Biography

Born in Radom (Poland), Schwalbé studied in his youth with Moritz Frenkel, then continued his studies in Paris and worked with Georges Enesco, Pierre Monteux and Jules Boucherit. He took French citizenship at that time. Then came the war, and Schwalbé being Jewish, fled France in 1942 and settled in Switzerland. He became soloist of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva from 1944 to 1946, then in Lausanne until 1957, when Herbert von Karajan offered him a solo violin position at the Berlin Philharmonic. During his Swiss period, Schwalbé created his own quartet and succeeded Joseph Szigeti at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève.

Schwalbé died in Berlin on 8 October 2012.

Notable recordings

• Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, 1972, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft
• Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op.30; Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, 1974, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft
• Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Op.40; Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, 1959, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft

External links

• Literature by and about Michel Schwalbé in the German National Library catalogue
• Tabellarischer Lebenslauf klassik-heute.de
• Des Meisters erste Geige tagesspiegel.de, 26 October 2009
• Karajans Konzertmeister Nachruf in der FAZ, 11 October 2012
• Michel Schwalbé, musicien français, violoniste berlinois Le Monde (18 October 2012)
• Michel Schwalbé's obituary (The Daily Telegraph)
• Michel Schwalbé's obituary (The Guardian)
• Discography (Discogs)
• Michel Schwalbé - Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor (1961) (YouTube)