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Christian Badea
Dietfried Bernet
Ivor Bolton
Fredrik Burstedt
Gregor Bühl
Brad Cohen
Laurence Cummings
Per-Otto Johansson
Roland Kluttig
Paul Mägi
Andrew Parrott
Tobias Ringborg
Mats Rondin
Henrik Schaefer
En Shao
Andreas Stoehr
Petter Sundkvist
Shi-Yeon Sung
Joakim Unander |
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“With tender practices from older playing techniques and sound-ideals and a continuous
contact with the stage and the singers he presents us with a born-again Parsifal.”
Henrik Schaefer was first seen on a Swedish podium in March 2005 when he, at short notice, stepped in as
conductor of Bruckner’s 5th symphony with the NORRKÖPING SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. This highly successful
debut immediately rendered him re-invitations for the 06/07 and 07/08 seasons.
Prior to this, Henrik Schaefer had been guest conductor in orchestras in the greater part of Europe; among whom
can be mentioned the LEIPZIG GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA, DUTCH RADIO ORCHESTRA, ROBERT SCHUMANN
PHILHARMONIE CHEMNITZ and the GUSTAV-MAHLER-JUGENDORCHESTER. He had also had recurring
engagements in Japan with the symphony orchestras in Tokyo (both the TOKYO METROPOLITAN and the TOKYO
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA), OSAKA, HIROSHIMA, SAPPORO and YOKOHAMA, as well as with the BBC SCOTTISH
ORCHESTRA. After a successful debut at OPER LEIPZIG (Stravinskij’s Sacre de Printemps) in 2003 he was immediately
offered to conduct a run of Le Nozze di Figaro at the same theater.
In spring 2007 Henrik Schaefer returned to Sweden as conductor for a new production of Parsifal at the KARLSTAD
OPERA. The production, by Wilhelm Carlson, was met with accolades from a united press at the premiere in
February and was subsequently played to full houses during spring 2007. Henrik Schaefer was especially lauded for
his lyrical and sensitive interpretation of Wagner’s score, incorporating period-practices such as gut strings. In
November 2007 Henrik Schaefer moved on to lead the premiere of a new Le Nozze di Figaro at the GOTHENBURG
OPERA, and 2007 ended with yet another opera production, Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites in The Hague.
2007/2008 also brought debuts with the HELSINGBORG and GÄVLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS as well as the
STUTTGARTER SYMPHONIKER, RESIDENTIE ORKEST in The Hague and Henrik Schaefer’s Italian debut; with the
ORCHESTRA OF TEATRO REGIO in Turin, conducting Mahler’s 3rd Symphony.
In 2008/2009 Henrik Schaefer will return to Japan (TOKYO METROPOLITAN ORCHESTRA, HIROSHIMA SYMPHONY)
and to the HELSINGBORG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. His activities in the opera houses include his return to the
GOTHENBURG OPERA, where he will be musical leader of a staged version of Mozart’s Requiem and to the
KARLSTAD OPERA for La Bohème.
Other highlights of the season include conducting debuts with L’ ORCHESTRE DE L’OPERA DE ROUEN, France
(Brahms violin concerto, Schumann 4) and the FLEMISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Schubert 9).
In 2009/2010 he will continue his Mozart-cycle at the GOTHENBURG OPERA with a new production of Die
Zauberflöte.
Henrik Schaefer was born in Bochum in 1968 and began studying Violin at the age of 6 and changed to Viola at the
age of 14. After studies in Essen and Freiburg with Ulrich Koch and Kim Kashkashian he became at 23 the youngest
member of THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA at that time. He is a prizewinner of the DDR International
Music Competition and the winner of the Carl Flesch Academy in 1991 and the Brahms Prize of the Deutsche
Brahms-Gesellschaft. He is also a chamber-music partner of celebrated musicians such as Emmanuel Pahud, Antje
Weithaas and Christoph Poppen.
Alongside his orchestral activity, Henrik Schaefer studied Conducting from 1994 till 1998 at the LEIPZIG
MUSIKHOCHSCHULE with Volker Rohde. He began working with youth orchestras and soon became chief conductor
of the SINFONIE ORCHESTER SCHÖNEBERG in Berlin. In 1999 he was invited by Sony to conduct the BERLIN
PHILHARMONIC, recording excerpts from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Fourth and Schumann’s Third.
This led to a number of assignations with the Berlin Philharmonic as Assistant Conductor to Claudio Abbado, whom
he also assisted during the Salzburg Easter festivals in 2001 and 2002. |
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