Wolfgang Schulz was solo flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic who was one of the most renowned and active flutists in the world. He had performed internationally as soloist and chamber musician and had also appeared at various festivals since a young age, such as the Salzburger Festspiele, the Wiener Festwochen, the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, the Ravenna Musikfestival and the Luzerner Festwochen, to name a few. His duo recital partners had included the pianists Helmut Deutsch, Elisabeth Leonskaja, András Schiff and Stefan Vladar, amongst others. Since 1983 he had been a flutist in the wind quintet “Ensemble Wien-Berlin”, which features solo wind players from both the Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonic orchestras.
Wolfgang Schulz’ repertoire comprised works ranging from baroque to modern, which he had performed in almost all music metropolises of the world under such conductors as Abbado, Bernstein, Böhm, Maazel, Mehta, Ozawa, Previn and Stein.
He took particular interest in promoting the works of contemporary Austrian composers and had premiered works dedicated to him by Cerha, Eder, Eröd, Urbanner and Willi.
Many of Wolfgang Schulz’ numerous recordings have been distinguished with prizes, including the Wiener Flötenuhr, the Edison-Preis, the Grand Prix du disque and the Diapason d’or.
For many years he had been an artistic director of his own classical festival, “Bonheur musical”, which took place in Lourmarin, France.
Wolfgang Schulz had taught at the Vienna University for Music and Fine Arts since 1979. The combination of his vast musical experience and his own passion for music made him one of the most important figures in flute pedagogy. He supplemented this with regular master classes in almost all continents of the world.
In March 2013, he passed away in Vienna. |
