Concertmaster with numerous orchestras and a champion of youth music education, the German violinist was 95 years old
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Violinist Conrad von der Goltz died on 21 November 2023 in the company of loved ones in Eichhofen, Germany. He was 95.
Von der Goltz was born in Berlin in 1928. He lived in Sweden during the Second World War. In 1945, at the age of 17, he played in the Detmold Municipal Orchestra. From 1948 he studied first in Hamburg and then in Detmold with Tibor Varga, and he took part in master classes with Max Rostal and Wolfgang Schneiderhan.
A host of concertmaster positions followed his studies, including at Göttingen, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, first concertmaster at the Bremen Philharmonic State Orchestra and as a guest at the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden.
As an educator, he became professor at the Würzburg University of Music in 1963, a post he held until 1993. During his tenure, he founded the school’s pre-college department, receiving a gold badge of honour from the university for his commitment.
Von der Goltz was also professor of violin at the University of Catholic Church Music & Music Education (HfKM) in Regensburg, working with young students. He received a Federal Cross of Merit with Ribbon and the Federal Cross of Merit 1st class for his work in musical early education.
’Conrad von der Goltz shaped the promotion of young talents on the violin in Germany and especially in Bavaria in a unique way: as a musician and pedagogue he will always remain an example,’ said Franz Josef Stoiber, head of HfKM.
He was a member of the Brahms Trio with his pianist wife Kirsti Hjort and cellist Jan Polasek, as well as the German-English Mozart Ensemble and the von der Goltz Chamber Orchestra.
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