Michaela Paetsch

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Michaela Paetsch Neftel
Michaela and her violin
Born	Michaela Modjeska Paetsch (1961-11-12)November 12, 1961 Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Died	January 20, 2023(2023-01-20) (aged 61) Bern, Switzerland
Occupation	Concert Violinist
Years active	1971–2023
Spouse	Klaus Neftel ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	Nora (daughter)[1]
Parents	Günther Johannes Paetsch (father) Priscilla Paetsch (mother)
Relatives	Johann Sebastian Paetsch (brother)

Michaela Paetsch Neftel (born Michaela Modjeska Paetsch; November 12, 1961 – January 20, 2023)^[1] was the first American woman to have recorded all 24 Paganini Caprices for solo violin.^[2] In 1984, Paetsch was awarded first prize at the G. B. Dealey Awards,^[3][4] followed by a top prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1985.^[5] She also was awarded a special prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1986.^[6][7]

Paetsch was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the second oldest of seven children to cellist Günther Johannes Paetsch and violinist Priscilla Paetsch, both of whom played in the Colorado Springs Symphony. Her brother, Johann Sebastian Paetsch, is also a cellist. While her parents taught all seven children to play stringed instruments, Paetsch began taking violin lessons at the age of three. ^[8][9]

Paetsch's family history extends back to the Mayflower as five ancestors, including Governor William Bradford (her 9th great grandfather), John Howland, and Elizabeth Tilley, came over to the New World in 1620.^[10][11]

The Paetsch Family Chamber Music Ensemble, which included the Paetsch family and siblings, performed throughout Colorado.

Paetsch gave her first public recital at the age of seven.^[12] She performed with the Baroque Players in Colorado Springs, as well as the Jefferson Symphony in Golden, Colorado.

In 1970, at age nine, Michaela served as the concertmaster for the Fort Carson Little Theatre production of the Fiddler on the Roof.^[8] In 1972, Paetsch became concertmaster of the Cosmic Heights Chamber Orchestra and played as a first violinist and soloist with the Baroque Players.^[13] The Paetsch String Sextet, formed in 1972, consisted of Michaela Modjeska Paetsch as concertmaster and solo violist, Priscilla Paetsch as both violinist and violist, Gunther Paetsch as principal cellist, and Brigitte and Phebe Paetsch performing the tutti voices and solo inner violin and viola parts. Johann Sebastian Paetsch played as the continuo cellist.

On March 18, 1973, the Paetsch Family Orchestra began a series of concerts throughout Colorado, starting at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center in Pueblo. At age 11, Paetsch was featured playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, Vitali's Chaconne, part of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and the first viola solo part of the Sixth Brandenburg Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach.^[9]

When Michaela was 12 years old, she won both the Colorado Springs Young Artists Contest and the Pueblo Young Artists Contest. As a result, she performed as a soloist with the Colorado Springs Symphony, the Pueblo Symphony under the direction of Gerhard Track, and the Jefferson Symphony in Denver, Colorado.^[14] In 1975, Paetsch was awarded a scholarship to study in the Meadowmount School of Music in Upstate New York with Ivan Galamian and Joseph Gingold.^[14][15][5] At the age of 14, Michaela was the youngest full time member (sitting next to her mother Priscilla, in the first violin section) of the Colorado Springs Symphony in its history.^[14]

Critics praised the level a maturity in the family performance, with one reviewer of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph writing “When children who look like angels also perform like angels, who possess all the skill necessary to tackle the heroic, Herculean and at times unfathomable Brahms Sextet—when cascading technical passages are performed with effortless execution and are marked by a lush tone and a perfect intonation that make the Brahms masterpiece a glorious sound of syncopation, excitement, breadth and brilliance, then we have true greatness in our midst. The Paetsch family, including mother, father and their angelic-looking children display musical discipline and artistry of the highest form and are truly worthy of all the support our community can possibly give them.”^[8] The Paetsch family was often called “The Trapp Family of Colorado.”^[16] In recognition of their services to the community the family was recently nominated for the “American Musical Family Award” given by the American Music Conference.^[16]

Paetsch, who was in Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School at the time, together with her family, played concerts three times a day and three times a week for schools, for nursing homes, and for hospitals. One year they played more than 300 concerts. Mark Arnest of The Gazette in Colorado Springs wrote:

”Once upon a time, the name 'Paetsch' was the biggest name in classical music in Colorado Springs—and the most numerous.”^[17]

Michaela practiced a minimum of four hours a day, and increased that amount when she was preparing for competitions.^[18] At 16, she won first prize in the National String Competition sponsored by the American String Teachers Association which was held in Chicago, Illinois.^[19]

Michaela said once in an interview: “I knew when I was 3 years old that I would be a violinist. One of the words I learned was patience, I learned that in a good way.”

In 1979 Michaela performed Dvorak's Violin Concerto with Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Debut Orchestra of Young Musicians Foundation in the Willshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, California.^[20][21][22]

She graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs in June 1979.

Paetsch went to study at Yale University with the famous Polish-born violinist Szymon Goldberg, who also taught Michaela’s mother, Priscilla. Paetsch followed Goldberg to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.^[23][5], where he continued teaching after leaving Yale due to its mandatory retirement age. In one of her many recitals at the Curtis Institute, she programmed the solo works by Bach, Paganini, and Bartok and premiered Daron Aric Hagen's “Occasional Notes” and William Coble's “Intrada.”^[24] Daron Hagen said: “I want Michaela to keep appearing before the public. She is in that netherworld between leaving school and winning the big competition.”^[24]

Paetsch received a special prize for the best performance of a compulsory work by Russian composer Yuri Falik at the closing ceremony on July 4, 1986, in the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia.^[6] Her brother Johann Paetsch took part in the cello competition at the same time in Moscow. In an interview with Paetsch by John Aloysius Farrell with the Denver Post in 1986, she was quoted saying:

Paetsch was told by cellist Aldo Parisot to “Start in Europe, then bring it back here. They'll appreciate you more.” She centered her career in Europe. In October 1987 she played three concerts in Holland, directed by the leader of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra's manager was impressed and arranged for Paetsch to come to Zurich, where a Swiss millionaire with a large collection of stringed instruments loaned her a Guarneri violin to use. Shortly after that, at a private audition, the German recording company, Teldec, signed her up to a recording contract.^[26]

In October 1987, Paetsch recorded the 24 Capricci, Op.1 by Niccolò Paganini for Teldec.^[27] Paetsch then returned to Denver to perform the Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major with Maestra JoAnn Falletta and the Denver Chamber Orchestra in April 1988, after being quoted as being an “Award-winning violinist and recording artist who recently recorded the Paganini Caprices on a compact disc.”^[28]

In the summer of 1988, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra with the conductor, Charles Ansbacher invited Paetsch to play not only in Colorado Springs, but also in the Ford Amphitheatre in Vail, where she performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor.^[29]

Paetsch has showcased her musical talents as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in prominent musical hubs across the globe. Notably, she performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Avery Fischer Hall in New York, as well as at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Paetsch also performed at music festivals including Marlboro in Vermont, Davos in Switzerland, Brandenburg Summer Concerts in Berlin, Banff in Canada, Boulder Bach Festival, and the "Mostly Mozart" festival in New York. Additionally, she has participated in the Rhein-Sieg and Niederrhein Chamber Music Festivals, both located in Germany.

Collaborating with renowned orchestras across the globe, she performed with ensembles such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and the Philharmonics of Osaka in Japan, as well as the Philharmonic orchestras of Seoul in Korea, Liége in Belgium, and Bergen in Norway. Additionally, she worked with the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig Germany, the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Residentie Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, amongst others. Her collaborations brought her under the direction of conductors such as Kent Nagano, Dmitri Kitayenko, Horst Stein and Myung-whun Chung.^[5][30]

Her recorded works comprise a diverse range of pieces, including Niccolo Paganini's "24 Caprices" (1987), Joachim Raff's concertos with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, and "Sonatillen, Op. 99" and "Morceaux, Op. 85" featuring Eric Le Van on piano. Additionally, she recorded Brahms' "21 Hungarian Dances" and "La Capricieuse". Michaela has also contributed to the live recording of Sofia Gubaidulina's "Offertorium" as the featured soloist with the Bern Symphony Orchestra. Her recordings have been released through esteemed record labels such as Sony Classical, Arte Nova, cpo, and ARSIS.^[31] From 1993 she had been the violinist for the quartet Ensemble Incanto, with which she toured extensively and recorded regularly.^[5] She lived in Bern, Switzerland and then later on moved to the city of Ligerz, Switzerland.

On December 15, 2019, Paetsch played a Christmas concert in Bellmund (near Biel/Bienne) with her brother Johann and his family. The next day Paetsch started chemotherapy treatment for the recently discovered cancer that she had acquired. The players were Michaela Paetsch, violin; Valentina Paetsch, violin; Yoko Paetsch, viola; Raphaela Paetsch, cello; Dominic Paetsch, cello and Johann S. Paetsch, cello. They played to a sold-out audience a whole evening of pieces that were arranged jointly arranged by Michaela and Johann for 2 violins, viola and 3 cellos.^[32][33][34]

On August 3, 1990, Paetsch married Klaus Neftel in Bern, Switzerland. They had a daughter two years later in 1992, whom they named Anna Nora Neftel. Paetsch lived in Ligerz, Switzerland, and travelled often to her native Colorado Springs.^[31] While living in Ligerz, she had 3 cats: Päddi, Ashie and Saphira, who would take walks with her in the vineyards above the village.^[1]

Paetsch broke her first stallion at age nine.^[35] Her parents raised Polish-bred registered Purebred Arabian horses at their house in Colorado Springs, which bordered the Pike National Forest.^[36] They had acquired an Arabian colt named "Nakiro" by playing a concert in Bozeman, Montana. Paetsch trained and rode the young stallion in the rugged mountains behind their house.^[35]

Paetsch died in a palliative clinic in Bern, Switzerland, on 20 January, 2023, at the age of 61, from cancer complications.^{[31][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]}

Paetsch won numerous awards, including first prize in the G.B. Dealey International Competition in Dallas and top prizes in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition and the Tchaikovsky International Violin Competitions.

Her extensive discography includes:

• The 24 Caprices by Niccolò Paganini with Teldec.^[5]
• She has also recorded with Sony Classical, Arte Nova (BMG) and Tudor.^[5]
• Her recent disc of the Concertos by Joachim Raff with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (TUDOR 7086).^[5]
• The complete music for solo strings of Daron Hagen for Arsis.
• ensemble incanto - string quartet

Release	Composer/Title of work	Performer	Label/Catalog no.	Format
1987	Niccolò Paganini 24 Capricci Op.1	Michaela Paetsch ‘’(violin)’’	Teldec 6.43922	CD
1990	Sofia Gubaidulina Offertorium (violin concerto)	Berner Symphonieorchester Dmitri Kitayenko (conductor)	BMG DDD 1002 Konzeertmitschnitt	CD
1991	Luigi Boccherini Streichquintett Op. 28 Nor. 2	Pina Carmirelli, Gary Hoffman, Ramon Bolipata, Toby Hoffman, Michaela Paetsch	Sony 47298	CD
1992	Davos Music Festival F. Poulenc, W.A. Mozart, R. Strauss, S. Prokofiev, E. Toch, F. Mendelssohn	Stefan Henneberger (conductor), Chamber Ensemble: Stefan Buri, Diana Doherty, Dénes Várjon, Pascal Siffert, Marina Piccinini, Stephanie Gonley, Françoise Groben, Guido Schiefen, Irina Nikitina, Kyoko Takezawa, Douglas Paterson, Regula Schneider, Regine Guthauser, Andreas Haefliger, Ursula Fiedler, Stefano Wenk, Anthony Marwood, Michaela Paetsch, Ilya Konovalov, Anna Pfister	Sony 47298	CD
1995	Johannes Brahms 21 Ungarische Tänze (arr. Michaela Paetsch)	Michaela Paetsch Neftel (violin) Liese Klahn (piano)	Tudor 7037	CD
1995	Johannes Brahms Klavierquintett Op. 115	Michaela Paetsch (violin) Rahel Cunz (violin) Harmut Rohde (viola) Guido Schiefen (cello) Ralph Manno (clarinet)	Oehms Classics 259	CD
1995	Paul Hindemith Quartett für Klarinette, Violine, Cello und Piano Duette für Klarinette und Violine	ensemble incanto Ralph Manno (clarinet) Michaela Paetsch (violin) Guido Schiefen (cello) Liese Klahn (piano)	cpo 999 302-2	CD
1997	W. A. Mozart Klarinettenquintett	Ralph Manno (clarinet) Michaela Paetsch (violin) Rahel Cunz (violin) Hartmut Rohde (viola) Guido Schiefen (cello)	Arte Nova-Nr. 74321433252	CD
1997	Daron Hagen Strings Attached	Michaela Paetsch (violin) Charles Noble (viola) Robert LaRue (cello)	Arsis 111	CD
2000	Joseph Joachim Raff Violinkonzerte 1 Violinkonzerte 2 Cavatina ”Ungrischer”	Michaela Paetsch (violin) Hans Stadlmair (conductor) Bamberger Symphoniker	Tudor 7086	CD
2000	Bela Bartok, Contrasts Aram Khachaturian, Trio Darius Milhaud, Suite Igor Stravinsky, L’histoire du Soldat	ensemble incanto	Arte Nova-Nr. 74321721052	CD
2001	Olivier Messiaen Quatuor pour la fin du temps	ensemble incanto Ralph Manno (clarinet) Michaela Paetsch (violin) Guido Schiefen (cello) Liese Klahn (piano)	Arte Nova-Nr. 70762	CD
2003	Joseph Joachim Raff 10 Sonatillen 6 Morceaux	Michaela Paetsch (violin) Eric Le Van (piano)	Tudor 7109	CD
2004	Peter Härtling liest Schumanns “Schatten”	Musik ensemble incanto	Querstand VKJK 0403	CD
2005	Arthur Furer Violinkonzert Nr.3 (von 1956/57)	Michaela Paetsch (violin) Kaspar Zehnder (conductor) Prague Philharmonia	Musikverlag Müller & Schade AG in Bern live bit Schnitt	CD
2011	’’La Capricieuse’’ Virtuose Musik für Violine und Akkordeon	Michaela Paetsch (violin) Wiesław Pipcynski (accordion)	Tudor 7168	CD
	Felix, Mendelssohn Octet for Strings in E flat Major, Op.20	Anthony Marwodd (violin) Kyoko Takezawa (violin) Michaela Paetsch (violin) Ilya Konovalov (violin) Douglas Paterson (viola) Anna Pfister (viola) Guido Schiefen (cello) Francoise Groben (cello)	Musik Festival Davos	CD

• Michaela Paetsch's home page is http://www.michaelapaetsch.com.
• A German web site is here: http://www.michaelapaetsch.ch
• Michaela Paetsch discography at Discogs
• Bio from the Queen Elisabeth International Competition