Sontraud Spiedel
1944 -
Sontraud Speidel is
Professor of Music and Head of the Piano Department at the distinguished state
conservatory of music in Karlsruhe, Germany. She has been hailed by music
critic Wolf-Eberhard von Lewinski as "one of the
most inspiring, gripping and convincing pianists of today." A world class
artist with over thirty commercial recordings to her credit, she has thrilled
audiences around the world in hundreds of recitals and solos with performances
noted for their breathtaking detail, subtle nuance, and exciting musical
spontaneity.
Born in Germany as World War
II was ending, Speidel was raised in a family that
valued music. She began her first lessons at age five on accordion, an
instrument both parents played. After just a few months of study she was
encouraged by her teacher to study piano because the accordion was too limiting
for her talent. She would study both, as well as violin.
Her family, like many others
in post-war Germany, was poor. Even so, Speidel
recalls, they never went without food. While her parents
could not afford music lessons for her, teachers, impressed by her talent and
promise, helped by obtaining scholarships for her at the nearby music school.
At age eleven, Speidel was selected to study piano at the music
conservatory in her home city of Karlsruhe. Five years later she won first
prize in a national competition with contestants from all of the schools in
West Germany. This success would be the first of several in Germany and in
other international competitions that would include the Bach Prize in
Washington, D.C., the Boston Symphony Jackson Prize at Tanglewood,
and Italy's Ettore Pozzoli
Prize.
She graduated with honors
from the conservatory at age twenty-one, earning both a teacher's degree and
Concert Diploma. She then continued studies with several prominent teachers in
Frankfurt, Brussels, and Switzerland. In her late twenties, she started
teaching part-time at her alma mater, giving lessons to the music minors.
A number of successful
performances as recitalist and soloist with numerous orchestras in the next
decade, including an invitational concert at the request of German Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt at the Palais Schaumburg in Bonn in
1979, led to recognition and an appointment at the conservatory in Trossinger in 1980.
Two years later Speidel was offered a professorship at the conservatory in
Karlsruhe. She was appointed head of the keyboard, guitar, and lute areas in
1991.
A warm and affirming person
by nature, Speidel is a natural teacher who inspires
students to reach for and achieve ultimate musical results. Her master classes
in the United States and her master courses in Germany, Israel, and Vienna, are
regarded as insightful and inspiring by the students and their teachers.
She is in demand as an
adjudicator for international competitions and is a regular jury member of national
piano competitions
on the regional, state, and federal level including the
Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, Germany; Johann Sebastian Bach
competition in Koethen, Germany; and others. She is
also a frequent judge in international piano competitions such as the Bach
Competition in Leipzig, Callas Competition in Athens, and Senigallia
in Vienna, as well as others in Dublin, Rome, Washington D.C., Israel, Morocco,
Minnesota, and Cleveland.
Speidel particularly enjoys giving music
lessons. She recently observed, "I especially love teaching on a
one-to-one basis. It is such a personal thing. Once a year I take an excursion
with my students. When I see them all together, I get frightened. I know each
of their stories and feel so much responsibility for each one. But usually I
see them one at a time and am able to deal with it on that basis."
Her students have won numerous prizes in national and international competitions.
Speidel met her husband, Alfred Csammer, a professional violinist, while in her teens. He
had been raised an Adventist and introduced her to the church. An active
performer, he played for years as a member of the famous Stuttgart Chamber
Orchestra until his death in 2009. He also served as an assistant professor at
Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz for many years. While he had to wrestle
with problems associated with making music and keeping the Sabbath, her career
as a piano performer has been relatively free of this problem. Even so, she has
had to make some difficult decisions in this area.
Although her repertoire
includes the usual works performed by concert pianists, Speidel
particularly enjoys performing nineteenth-century compositions written by Fanny
Hensel, sister of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and also less frequently played works by Wagner,
Hummel, and others. This music is typically presented within the context of
more familiar works in solo and chamber music recitals.
Despite her frequent
concertizing and teaching and administrative duties at the conservatory, Speidel finds time to practice regularly. Additionally, she
was elected in 1994 to serve as president of the Piano-Gruppe
Karlsruhe, a performance study group which also sponsors promising young
pianists in concerts. She greatly expanded the scope of this group's work in
her first year of leadership, increasing its membership from around 80 to 200.
Speidel's concerts and recordings have been
hailed as exciting and memorable performances which set the standard. As von
Lewinski recently observed " ... she is able to recognize the wealth of
ideas in pieces, then present such riches with precise tonal balance, unusual
spontaneity of breathing and impulse, deep sensitivity and her own individual -
but never arbitrary - shaping. There is always excitement in her playing.”
In
2005 Speidel was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz
der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the National Award of
Germany. She is listed as a “Steinway Pianist” and is an honorary member of the
Werner-Trenkner Society.
While she thoroughly enjoys
performing on the piano, Speidel's love of music is
inclusive: "I love all good music experiences. While I enjoy playing and
hearing piano, I also love to hear and play with other instruments and attend
symphony concerts. Good music can be beautiful and uplifting. It is an ultimate
human experience."
ds/1995/2013
This
biography was originally an article by Dan Shultz, printed in the Winter 1995 issue of IAMA Notes, 1, 3-9. It was based on an
interview with Sontraud Speidel
by the writer in 1994 and was edited and updated in 2013. Information about her
husband, Alfred Csammer, was provided by Sontraud Spiedel in April 2010.
See his biography.
An Interview with Sontraud
Speidel
Marvin
Robertson
Following a concert at Southern College [now
Southern Adventist University] on October 13, 1985, Sontraud
Speidel was interviewed by Music Department Chairman,
Marvin Robertson. The following is a transcript of the interview.
You are
well known for your concerts; I am sure people would like to know where you
teach.
I teach at
the Hochschule for Music in Karlsruhe, West Germany.
What is
your position?
I am
Professor of Music in charge of piano.
What is
your teaching load at the hochschule?
We are required
to teach twenty hours per week, plus committee meetings and examinations. Most
of my students take a one-hour lesson per week, although several take two-hour
lessons.
It seems
we all have committee meetings, but what is the nature of the examinations you
mentioned?
Well, we
have performance examinations for entrance and to meet performance requirements
once a student is accepted. For instance, I just finished sitting on one of the
two examination committees for entrance into our piano program.
How many
students who take the entrance exams are accepted for study?
Oh, it is
very difficult and competitive. Only five to ten percent pass the piano
examination and are accepted for study. For instance, I will have only two new
students this year.
Let's talk
about concertizing. Do you have a manager?
Yes, in
Germany.
How many concerts do
you perform each year?
At
least thirty, which includes solo recitals, appearances with orchestras, and chamber
music.
My husband, Fredy Csammer,
a violinist, and I perform together. I also perform with a very fine cellist.
What
about German public radio?
Oh yes, I
perform frequently on radio - particularly 20th century music and
seldom -played music.
How many
records have you made?
Let's see, three
chamber music and seven solo piano albums. The seventh album is just coming
out--it is music of Fanny Hensel, the sister of Felix
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. About half of the music on
this recording is unpublished.
How did
you decide to do Fanny Hensel's music?
Well, a very
famous German musicologist who lives in Karlsruhe asked me to perform some of Hensel's music at our Mendelssohn Festival. Some of it was
very difficult to obtain from the library in Berlin. I was also asked to
perform a previously unpublished "Song Without
Words" which was discovered in 1982 in an old guest book.
I enjoyed
the music of Fanny Hensel which you performed this
evening. Tell me more about her music.
First of
all, most of her music is worth playing. For instance, she has a Seasons Cycle
which consists of twelve pieces--one for each month. Most are a melody with
accompaniment, but there is a typical Romantic fugue and there is a chorale at
the end of December.
She and
Felix sound quite a bit alike; in fact, he published two or three of her works
as his. He was very jealous of her compositional ability and told her not to
publish, but later encouraged and helped her.
Some people
have suggested that I am interested in Fanny Hensel
from a feminist point of view. I am not. I am interested in her music because
it is worthy--not because she is a woman. I am, however, sure her music would
have been published sooner if she had been a man.
Over the
many years we have been friends, i have observed you
have somewhat specialized in piano music not in the standard repertoire - piano
music of Wagner, Hummel, Hensel for example. Why?
First of
all, I am curious about music both known and unknown, and if it is good, I
study it. Because I can learn quickly, I often get calls to learn works not in
the standard repertoire of 20th century
music. Next year, I am premiering a new work by a German composer. I only do 20th century
music which is played on the keys with the fingers. Many of these performances
are for German radio.
Does
having this music in your repertoire give you additional performance
opportunities?
Yes and No.
Most concert presenters would not accept a whole evening of modern music and
even if you do get one performance, it is hard to get second and third
performances. Therefore, I use this music within recital programs which contain
other styles of music.
What
music do you like best to perform?
Oh, that is
a difficult question. Bach, of course, but I like all music that is
well-written and worthy of performance.
Has being
a Seventh-day Adventist been a limiting factor on your performing career?
Absolutely
no limitation.
For the professional orchestral player, such as my husband, or for the
professional choir singer there are more problems - but not for the solo
pianist.
What do
you consider the essentials to becoming a successful professional performer?
First, if
you can do anything else and love it, do it. Concertizing is a hard life; it
demands much and is highly competitive. Second, you must have good nerves and
good health. Third, success as a professional performer depends on a
combination of luck, being at the right place at the right time, and knowing
the right people.
This interview was
published in the Summer 1987 issue of IAMA Newsletters.
Discography
CDs
Barbara Heller
Klaviersuite (1956) Sonatine (1962) Nacht-Tagebuch (2003) Weiße Tasten, Schwarze Tasten (2003) Klangblumen
(2003) Kontraste 2 (2011) Etüde
1 (2010)
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Piano Sonatas Vol. 1
Sonata
G minor op. 105, Sonata E major op. 6, Sonata Bb major op. 106, Piano Piece
"As time runs" G minor, without op. SST 31160 (1 CD)
Johann Sebastian
Bach Die sechs
Partiten
(Gesamtaufnahme) SST 31114 (2 CDs)
Johann Nepomuk Hummel/ Johann Ladislaus Dussek
Sonata
F# minor, op. 81/Sonata Eb Major op. 44 "The
Farewell" SST 31151
Fanny Hensel Née Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Piano
works (partly first recordings) SST 30179 (released in the USA by BRIOSO)
Piano Works From Female Composers From Three Centuries
Works
by Margarethe Danzi, Maria Szymanowska, Fanny Hensel, Clara
Schumann, Pauline Viardot, Marfa Sabinina,
Anna Weiss, Ilse Fromm-Michaels, Germaine Tailleferre, and Marcelle Soulage. Mostly first recordings. organo phon
CD 90113
Romantic Piano Music
Theodor
Kirchner, Ten Piano Pieces, Opus 2, Carl Reinecke,
Two Ballades, first recording SST30216
Rarities of Piano
Music at Schloss vor Husum 1991
Werke von Eduard Erdmann DACOCD 389
Music From Baden-Wuerttemberg: Otto Dessoff
Piano
Sonata op. 3 (Sontraud Speidel),
String Quintet op. 10 (Stuttgarter Streichquintett) String Quartet op. 11 (Abert-Quartett
Stuttgart), Fantasia Classics FCL 56801
Piano Music by
Composers From Karlsruhe
Works
from Schmittbaur, Danzi, Kalliwoda, Lachner, Dessoff, Faisst, Mottl, Cassimir, Schmid, Schweikert, Mantel, Kusterer, Apostel, Schelb, Grosse, Velte (first
recordings) Antes Edition BM-CD 14.9001 (SDR) (2 CD's)
Josef Schelb
Piano
Music No. 2, Fifteen small pieces for piano, Four Piano Pieces; Partita Ritmica for 2 pianos (with Ruben Meliksetian)
Antes Edition BM-CD 31.9188
Piano with Orchestra
Carl Reinecke
Serenade
in g minor for string orchestra op. 242, Concert Piece for piano and orchestra
op. 33, Twelve Musical Pictures for String Orchestra, Sontraud
Speidel, piano, und the Suedwestdeutsches
Kammerorchester Pforzheim. Conductor: Vladislav Czarnecki ebs
6118
Piano Four-Hand Music
and Two Pianos
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg
Concertos 1-6 (complete recording). Transcription for
four-hand piano by Max Reger. With Evelinde Trenkner (first recording)
MDG 330 0653-2 (2 CDs)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Arrangements
by Max Reger for piano duo:Orchestral
Suites, Passacaglia in c minor, Toccata and Fugue in d minor, Prelude and Fugue
in Eb major, With Evelinde Trenkner, Dabringhaus und Grimm
MDG 330 1006-2 (Double CD) (FonoForum)
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
Piano
Sonatas, with additional second piano part by Edvard
Grieg, Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt
Suites No. 1+2, arranged for four-hand piano With Evelinde
Trenkner Dabringhaus und
Grimm MDG 930 1382-6 (Double CD)
Franz Schubert
Rosamunde D 797, transcription
for four-hand piano by Arnold Schoenberg (first recording, Lebensstuerme
D 947, With Evelinde Trenkner,
MDG 330 0763-
Anton Bruckner,
Symphony No. 3 in d minor
(Arrangement for four-hand piano by Gustav
Mahler).
With Evelinde Trenkner
(first recording)MDG 330 0591-2
Max Reger
Works
for Two Pianos (complete recording), Beethoven-Variations op. 86, Mozart-Variations op. 132a Introduction, Passacaglia, and
Fugue op. 96, With Evelinde Trenkner.
MDG 330 0765-2
Escapades
Ouvertures
and Variations for four-hand piano. With Evelinde
Trenkner. Works by Mozart, Rossini, Lortzing, Nicolai, Pillney,
Scharwenka, and Reger, MDG 330 1134-2
Eugen Werner Velte
Study
I for 2 pianos (first recording). With Olga Rissin-Morenova, Antes Edition BM-CD 149002
Piano Music with
Strings
Johannes Brahms
Trio
for piano, clarinet, and violoncello in a minor op. 114 (with Wolfhard Pencz and Peter Hoerr)Interchord
830.890 (SWF)
Johannes
Brahms/Arnold Schoenberg
Johannes Brahms, Piano Trio B Major op. 8,
Arnold Schoenberg, Verklaerte Nacht
(transcription for piano, violin, and violoncello by Eduard Steuermann). With Josef Rissin and Martin Ostertag BM-CD
31.9127
Vinzenz Lachner Chamber Music and
Piano Pieces
Sontraud Speidel
plays the "Zwei Klavierstuecke"
op. 52 (1874). Chamber music with Irene Guedel,
violoncello); Jost Michaels, piano; Kolja Lessing, violin; Joachim Draheim,
piano; Alfons Kade, piano;
Heinrich Schiff, violoncello; and Christian Zacharias, piano. BM-CD
31.9130
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart: Rondo KV 269 and
Violin Sonatas KV 301, 304, and 454
Maria-Elisabeth
Lott plays the violin from Mozart's childhood (Andreas Ferdinand Mayr, Salzburg 1735). Sontraud Speidel, fortepiano (Anton Walter, Vienna 1790). Mozarteum
Orchestra Salzburg. Conductor: Markus Tomasi.
EMI Classics 5 56872 2
Koh Gabriel Kameda: Romances
Koh
Gabriel Kameda, violin. Sontraud Speidel,
piano, kameda-music ABCC-1001
LP’s
Richard Wagner Piano
Sonatas
Sontraud Speidel
plays two Sonatas by Richard Wagner, FSM-Corona
Dussek/Johann Hummel Piano Sonatas
Sontraud Speidel
plays Sonatas by Dussek and Hummel, FSM-Corona
Johann Hummel Sonata
+
Sontraud Speidel
plays sonatas by Hummel and others, FSM-Corona
Anton Dvorak/ Bedrich Smetna
Alfred
Csammer and Sontraud Speidel play music for violin and piano FSM-Corona
Felix Mendelssohn/
Richard Strauss
Alfred
Csammer and Sontraud Speidel play sonatas for violin and piano FSM-Corona
Felix
Mendelssohn/Anton Dvorak
Sontraud Speidel and
Alfred Csammer play music for solo piano and violin
and piano, Chapel/Bridge