Death of a modernist cellist
mainSteven Isserlis reports the death of Johannes Goritzki, a cellist and condcutor who worked closely with Ligeti, Penderecki, Sandor Veress and Isang Yun.
He recorded more than 40 CDs, mostly on the German label CPO.
From 1980 to 2003 Goritzki was the chief conductor of the Deutsche Kammerakademie.
Moray Welsh writes: He was an extraordinary cellist, conductor, musician and friend, who influenced a huge number of cellists, including a lot of British cellists, amongst his many students. He was also an incredibly modest yet courageous man who overcame incredible health problems in the last few years, to go on teaching his students, for whom he was a beacon.
A name best-known within the classical music world, much beloved by all of us who knew him, the cellist Johannes Goritski, has left us. A deeply kind, caring man with a very special gift for teaching, he was an inspiration to countless musicians. He will be much missed.
— Steven Isserlis (@StevenIsserlis) December 22, 2018
Johannes offered me my first job which I immediately accepted with great excitement and some trepidation. On moving to Cologne arriving Hogmanay of 1987, I was warmly welcomed and very generously looked after by amazing musicians from the Kammerakademie. Friendships came with ease and Johannes promoted this. His thoroughness and perfectionism were at times frustrating but this diligence has stayed with me throughout all my professional dealings. How right and how generous he was.