Profile of Paul Kantschieder

Paul Kantschieder was born in Innsbruck in 1943. After graduating from school he studied both Music and Law at the University of Innsbruck.

After completing his studies (piano and music theory) between 1958 and 1970 both at the conservatories of Innsbruck and Rome (with Tulio Serafin) he took part in a master class with Milan Horvath at the Summer Academy in Salzburg.

The following years saw him on several occasions accepting roles as guest conductor of with the Feldkirch Orchestra and the Orchestra of the State Theatre of the Tyrol in Innsbruck. In 1973/1976/1978 -1981 he was the conductor at the Forum for Contemporary Music in Feldkirch with their own productions of operas by Benjamin Britten “Albert Herring” and “The Rape of Lucretia” which were both recorded for radio by the Austrian State Radio (ORF), as well as performances of Stravinsky’s “Histoire du Soldat” (The Soldier’s Tale). In 1979 he became the musical director of the Austrian Chamber Orchestra. After conducting at the Basilica Opera in London, the Marlowe Theatre in Chester, the Royal Opera House in Manchester and the Glasgow Theatre he recorded in 1986 the “Jupiter Symphony” and the Overture to “The Magic Flute” with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.

The same year saw him in many concerts and concert tours with the “Capella Istropolitana” in Slovakia, Austria, the Federal Republic of Germany and Italy. Since 1987 he regularly gave concerts and recorded CD’s with the “Masuria Philharmonic Orchestra”. Since 1989 he is the chief conductor of the Masuria Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland. In 1990 he produced and recorded Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo” for CD with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and in the same year he participated with great success in the open-air Dreieichenhain Castle Festival with productions of “Fidelio” and symphony concerts (Ludwig v. Beethoven – Leonore 3 Overture, Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”, The 8th Symphony; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Concert Arias KV 420 and KV 431; Jean Sibelius – Finlandia; Richard Wagner – Wesendonck Lieder; Johannes Brahms – 1st Symphony in c-minor. During the years 1990 – 1995 he performed the New Year’s Concerts with the Masuria Philharmonic Orchestra in Meran/Italy.

In recent years Paul Kantschieder concentrated more on contemporary music and recorded 20th Century Harpsichord Concerts with the Austrian harpsichordist, Eva Braito, for the German Koch Schwann label. This successful production was followed by recordings of 20th Century Double-Bass Concerts. Apart from many concerts in Austria he was also invited to lead the Kansai Philharmonia Orchestra in Osaka/Japan. In 1997 he was asked to conduct the “Stabat Mater” by Joseph Haydn in Lublin/Poland.

In the same year, Paul Kantschieder, also was the musical director of the opera “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck at the Brothers Grimm Festival in Hanau/Germany. This production was met by rave reviews in the media and Paul Kantschieder also conducted the CD-production of this opera for the Italian RS record label in Udine.

Occasional concerts with different orchestras and theatres, amongst them the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Concert of the “Filharmonia di Torino” in Turin/Italy.

In 1999/2000 Paul Kantschieder produced together with Kammerschauspieler Helmut Wlasak “The Bible” (Old and New Testament) as an audio book on 100 CD’s and presented this production to the Pope John Paul II during an audience.