Simon Wallfisch

Simon Wallfisch (born 22 May 1982) is a British-German classical singer and cellist.

Simon Wallfisch in 2017

Personal life

Simon Wallfisch was born in London[1] to a family of professional musicians: his father is acclaimed British cellist Raphael Wallfisch, his mother the Australian born baroque violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch. His grandparents are cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and pianist Peter Wallfisch, his great-grandfather was Albert Coates, music director of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre during the time of the Russian revolution. His older brother is composer Benjamin Wallfisch, his younger sister is singer-songwriter Joanna Wallfisch.

Between 2000 and 2006, Simon Wallfisch studied at the London Royal College of Music singing, violoncello and conducting. Passionate about German Lieder, he continued his studies at Berlin's Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" 2006/07 and until 2009 at University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. During that period he had his first solo appearances on stage at Opernhaus Leipzig, Theater Magdeburg, and theatres in Dessau, Altenburg and Gera...[2]

Baritone

Between 2009 and 2011, Wallfisch was a member of Zurich's International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich, having sung several solo roles. As a freelance singer he joined De Nationale Reisopera in Enschede in 2013 to sing Escamillo in La Tragédie de Carmen, 2015 he sang Albert in Jules Massenet’s "Werther" at English Touring Opera.,[3][4] 2016 as Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème in Teatro Verdi in Pisa, and recently as Fieramosca in Hector Berlioz’ Benvenuto Cellini at Staatstheater Nürnberg.[5]

As a solo performer he sang Weihnachtsoratorium by Johann Sebastian Bach at Brighton Early Music Festival[6] and with the Nash Ensemble at London's Wigmore Hall[7] In March 2020 he will perform in a show about Irving Berlin in London's Kings Place.[8]

Recordings

The BBC invited Wallfisch to perform as cellist, in their commemoration event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2015.[9] Further recordings and live broadcasts were aired on German public radions NDR and Bayerischer Rundfunk, Swiss Radio SRF and France Musique.

CDs

In 2014, British label Lyrita Records published Simon Wallfisch's recording of "Geoffrey Bush songs";[10] in 2015 Nimbus Records published "French Songs: from la belle époque to les années folles" (with pieces by André Caplet, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud and Maurice Ravel),[11] both accompanied by Wallfisch's musical partner, pianist Edward Rushton.

John France's CD review at Musicweb International praises Wallfisch as "an ideal artist for English song recitals.[…] This is an excellent exploration of Geoffrey Bush's songs […], a hugely worthy contribution to this reappraisal and deserves every success.[12]

Tim Ashley of Gramophone reviewed the "French Songs": "Yet there's also no doubting the quality of his artistry. […] Wallfisch has a consistently fine way with words, and Honegger's Apollinaire settings reveal a deep, instinctive feel for French poetry. Caplet's 1919 La Fontaine Fables bring out the singing-actor in him, meanwhile, his ceaseless shifts in tone creating characterisations of quite exceptional vividness".[13]

Activism

Not only passionate about music, Simon Wallfisch is also a dedicated activist against antisemitism. He gives talks and tells his family's history in schools, and accompanies his grandmother Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who is a frequent guest in talkshows and interviews[14][15]

Wallfisch is a trustee of the International Centre for Suppressed Music (ICSM), which is dedicated to the "developing and promoting the research, recording, and performance of works by classical composers who were stopped from working, forced into exile or killed by the Nazis."[16]

Since the UK government invoked Article 50 to leave the European Union, Simon Wallfisch and supporters have sung Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" every month outside the Houses of Parliament.[17]

Wallfisch is married to baroque musician Kathleen Ross, member of successful group Mediæval Bæbes. They live in London and have a daughter and a son.

References
  1. "Brexit-Schicksal: Warum ein Enkel von NS-Opfern widerwillig Deutscher wurde". Focus.de. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. "Simon Wallfisch". Oxfordlieder.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  3. "Werther – English Touring Opera". Englishtouringopera.org.uk.
  4. Hall, George (5 October 2015). "Werther review – emotional power despite the reductions". The Guardian.
  5. Nürnberg, Staatstheater. "Simon Wallfisch – Staatstheater Nürnberg". Staatstheater-nuernberg.de.
  7. Hewett, Ivan; Christiansen, Rupert; Allison, John (6 September 2017). "A whistling violinist and grunting violin at the Festival Hall, plus September's best classical concerts". The Daily Telegraph.
  8. "There's No Business Like Show Business • Kings Place". Kingsplace.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  10. "Geoffrey Bush Songs". Wyastone.co.uk.
  11. "Classical". Wyastone.co.uk.
  12. "BUSH Songs - Lyrita SRCD343 [JF] Classical Music Reviews: November 2014 - MusicWeb-International". Musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. "Review". Gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  14. Herwig, Malte (21 December 2015). "Die Musikerfamilie Wallfisch: drei Generationen sprechen über ihre Vergangenheit". Sz-magazine.sueddeutsche.de. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  15. "AKG Traunstein: Zeitzeugen ziehen Publikum in Bann". Bayernwelle.de.
  16. "Suppressed". Jewish Music Institute. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
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