“Combining a career as a soloist with educating young and promising artists, creating one’s own artistic profile while directly affecting the promotion of and caring dedication to ambitious young people is the most rewarding experience in the artistic field.”
This is the notion that characterizes the work of the sought-after soloist and chamber musician in his musical and educational engagements at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock and the Orchestra Academy with the Staatskapelle Berlin.









biography




 
Felix Schwartz´ career as a versatile musician was launched by receiving two prizes at the International Music Competition at Geneva, while being a student of Prof. Alfred Lipka (†) at the Berlin Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler”. It was already in his student years that he was engaged at the Staatskapelle Berlin as a principal viola soloist. At the same time he singlemindedly pursued his artistic career as a soloist and chamber musician. Schwartz works with artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Elena Bashkirova, Lisa Batiashvili, Guy Braunstein, Yefim Bronfman, Giora Feidman, Michael Gielen, Lawrence Foster, Boris Pergamenshikov (†), Nikolaj Znaider and Pinchas Zukerman.

His repertory as a soloist comprehends the canonical works for viola, however, he is especially dedicated to the viola concertos by Bartók, Schnittke, Kantscheli, Milhaud, Walton, Coleman and Hindemith, which he has performed with renowned European orchestras.
Meanwhile the committed musician has performed at various festivals, such as the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, the Kammermusikfestival Kreuth, the Festival Schloss Moritzburg, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Rheingau Festival, the  Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Musiktage Hitzacker and others.

Together with Daniel Barenboim and
Matthias Glander, Schwartz recorded Mozart´s “Kegelstatt-Trio” for EMI in 2006. His interest in contemporary music he showed by recording a solo piece by David Robert Coleman ("Zwiegespräch" Etüde für Viola solo, released by NAXOS) and by staging the world premiere of a viola concerto by young Arturo Pantaléon. A great number of recordings with international broadcasting stations, and nearly every German station, document his artistic career that is further complemented by adaptations (such as the violin sonata by César Franck, published by Breitkopf) and editing work (e.g. with the first recording of the piano quintet by Wilhelm Furtwängler with Tacet).

The “
Trio Apollon”, founded with his partners Matthias Glander und Wolfgang Kühnl, will mark its 25th anniversary in 2015 with a recording of all works by Max Bruch. Amongst the numerous recordings of the trio, the CD "Wasserspiele" (with compositions by Enescu, Poulenc, Françaix, Kurtág and Matthus) is particularly worthy of mention. It was awarded the “ECHO” Prize in 2006. Furthermore, Felix Schwartz is a member of the renowned “Streichtrio Berlin”, which emerged from the “Gaede Trio”.

Training young musicians is another field of his artistic commitment, may it be as a Professor at the Hochschule für Musik Rostock or supervising young top musicians at the
Orchestra Academy with the Staatskapelle Berlin. Many of his students have benefited from his wealth of experience gained by doing master classes and working extensively as a mentor for the young musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (under the aegis of Daniel Barenboim) or as a professor at the Academia Barenboim/Said in Sevilla. From his classes, a great number of successful violists have emerged.

January 2015