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Paul Sacher (28 April 1906 – 26 May 1999) was a Swissconductor,patron andbillionairebusinessman. At the time of his death Sacher was majorityshareholder ofpharmaceutical companyHoffmann-La Roche and was considered the thirdrichest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$13 billion.[1][2][3]
He founded and conducted the Basler Kammerorchester (1926–1987). Hecommissioned notable works of composers of the 20th century and premiered them with the chamber orchestra. While better known for his interest in new music, he was also devoted to music of baroque and classical eras; he founded theSchola Cantorum Basiliensis, institute for early music, in 1933.
Sacher studied underFelix Weingartner, among others. In 1926 he founded the chamber orchestra Basler Kammerorchester, which specialized in both modern (twentieth-century) and pre-classical (mid-eighteenth-century) repertory. In 1928 he founded the Basel Chamber Choir. Both the orchestra and choir gave their last performance in 1987.[4] In 1984, theSerenata Basel was formed, with no direct connection to Sacher. They later adopted the name Kammerorchester Basel. He also founded the Collegium Musicum Zürich in 1941 withWalter Schulthess andStefi Geyer which he conducted until its disbandment in 1992.[5][6]
He was considered the world's third-richest man of the 1990s after marrying the heiress of thepharmaceutical companyHoffmann-La Roche. At the time of his death, he was reputed in various publications to be the richest man in Europe. He died in 1999, aged 93.
Sacher had 3 children outside marriage,[3] two daughters, Katharina and Cornelia, withCountess of Faber-Castell, and a son, Georg Schmid.[7][8]
Immensely wealthy, Sacher commissioned works from many well-known composers, including:
Pierre Boulez wrote hisGrawemeyer Award-winning workSur Incises for Sacher's 90th birthday. Boulez bequeathed his entire catalogue (including drafts) to the Paul Sacher Foundation. Henze dedicated hisTenth Symphony to the memory of Sacher, who had commissioned it but died before its completion.
In 1983, Sacher acquired the Stravinsky estate.[5] ThePaul Sacher Stiftung (Foundation) is located in the centre of Basel (in Münsterplatz) and houses one of the world's most important musical-manuscript collections. Sacher bought most of these manuscripts himself, and they include complete collections by several important twentieth-century composers (includingLutosławski,Ligeti,Boulez andReich). In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate from theAcademy of Music in Kraków.[9]
On the occasion of Sacher's 70th birthday, twelve composer friends of his (Conrad Beck,Luciano Berio,Pierre Boulez,Benjamin Britten,Henri Dutilleux,Wolfgang Fortner,Alberto Ginastera,Cristóbal Halffter,Hans Werner Henze,Heinz Holliger,Klaus Huber andWitold Lutosławski) were asked by Russian cellistMstislav Rostropovich to write compositions for cello solo using his name spelled out in musical notes (musical cryptogram) as thetheme (eS, A, C, H, E, Re). Many of them were performed in a Zurich concert on 2 May 1976. The whole "eSACHERe" project was performed in its entirety for the first time by Czech cellistFrantišek Brikcius on 9 May 2011 in Prague.[10]
| Composer | Composition |
|---|---|
| Conrad Beck | Für Paul Sacher : Drei Epigramme für Violoncello solo |
| Luciano Berio | Les Mots sont allés |
| Pierre Boulez | Messagesquisse, for 7 cellos |
| Benjamin Britten | Tema "Sacher" |
| Henri Dutilleux | Trois Strophes sur le nom de Sacher |
| Wolfgang Fortner | Zum Spielen für den 70. Geburtstag : Thema und Variationen für Violoncello Solo |
| Alberto Ginastera | Puneña No. 2, Op. 45 |
| Cristóbal Halffter | Variationen über das Thema eSACHERe |
| Hans Werner Henze | Capriccio per Paul Sacher |
| Heinz Holliger | Chaconne, für Violoncello Solo |
| Klaus Huber | Transpositio ad infinitum |
| Witold Lutosławski | Sacher-Variationen |
