[Archive 2016-12-24] Austrian cellist, conductor Heinrich Schiff dies

Historical archive — originally published 2016-12-24. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Austrian cellist and conductor Heinrich Schiff's death was announced yesterday morning, having died overnight. He was 65.

Born in Gmunden in 1951, Schiff made his orchestral début in 1971. His 1978 recording début earned him an Artist of the Year award at the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis. After achieving worldwide acclaim he retired as a soloist in 2012 following a 2008 stroke, becoming a conductor instead. He had already been taking conducting jobs as a sideline from the late 1980s.

Schiff studied at the Vienna Music Academy, and conducting roles included with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Northern Sinfonia, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Instructing jobs included at the Cologne Academy of Music and Dance, the University of Basel, the Salzburg Mozarteum, and Vienna's University of Music and the Pictorial Arts.

Awards included the French Grand Prix du Disque. Performances included the 1988 German Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, attended by the UK's Prince Charles.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Austrian cellist, conductor Heinrich Schiff dies by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.