Siegfried Palm

Siegfried Palm (25 April 1927 – 6 June 2005) was a German cellist who is known worldwide for his interpretations of contemporary music. Many 20th-century composers like Kagel, Ligeti, Xenakis, Penderecki and Zimmermann wrote music for him. He was also Rektor of the Hochschule für Musik Köln and Intendant of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Siegfried Palm was born in Barmen (now Wuppertal). At the age of 8 he started to learn playing the cello from his father; later he studied with Enrico Mainardi in master classes in Salzburg and Lucerne.He played as principal cellist in various orchestras, among others in Lübeck since 1945, in the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt since 1947, and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne 1962–1968.Siegfried Palm premiered cello concertos as well as contemporary chamber music. He was a member of the Hamann-Quartett 1951–1962. He played in a duo with the pianist Aloys Kontarsky 1962–1983, and since 1967 he was a member of the piano trio Rostal/Schröter/Palm, replacing Gaspar Cassadó. In 1962 he became teacher of a master class for violoncello at the Hochschule für Musik Köln (then called Staatliche Hochschule für Musik), and from 1972 until 1976 head of this institute.He started teaching at the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt in 1962. From 1976 until 1981 he was Intendant of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He was president of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) 1982–1988, and president of the Deutsch-Französischer Kulturrat 1988–2000. He conducted master classes and workshops around the world, as at the Carl-Flesch-Akademie in Baden-Baden, the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada, at the Royal Conservatory in Stockholm 1966, Dartmouth College 1969, Marlboro College several times between 1970 and 1990, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki 1971, and in Los Angeles 1983. He also served in the juries of international competitions. Palm appeared as the music teacher Wendell Kretzschmar in the 1982 German film Doktor Faustus.Siegfried Palm influenced the music of his century considerably, comparable to the cellists Gregor Piatigorsky and Mstislav Rostropovich. He suggested composers to write new works for his instrument, and it is partly due to him that the cello advanced to one of the most important solo instruments in contemporary music.

Siegfried Palm played a cello built 1708 by Gianbattista Grancino that Julius Klengel had played before. He died in Frechen.