Nikolaus Harnoncourt died at the age of 86 years – SPIEGEL ONLINE

The Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt died on Saturday at the age of 86 years. This was confirmed by his son Philip the news agency dpa

In a written statement distributed Harnoncourt widow Alice from Sunday says: “.. On 03.05.2016 Nikolaus Harnoncourt is peacefully asleep in his family grief and gratitude are great.”

The deceased was one of the world’s top conductors. He was born in 1929 in Berlin and grew up in Graz. From 1952 to 1969 he played as a cellist with the Vienna Symphony.

recordings of Bach and Monteverdi

In 1953 he founded with fellow orchestra the ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien, the early music on period instruments played. Groundbreaking his recordings of Monteverdi’s operas and cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Later were the specialist turned to Renaissance and Baroque music and the music of the 19th and 20th century. 2001 and 2003 he conducted the New Year’s concert has become a world event of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Harnoncourt had announced in December his 86th birthday the end of his work at the desk. At that time he wrote: “. My physical strength areas a rejection of my future plans”

The director of the Vienna Musikverein, Thomas Angyan, says the news agency APA: “An era has come to an end.” He did not expect that between Harnoncourt retreat and death “would thus be a short period of time”.