Michael Schäffer

Michael Schäffer (11 November 1937 – 7 September 1978) was a German lutenist.

He was a pioneer in the rediscovery of French Baroque lute works and concertized widely as soloist and with chamber ensembles.

Schäffer was born in Cologne. He received a musical education, as a violinist and violist, with his father Kurt Schäffer. His avocation, the guitar, led him to the lute. Schäffer was one of the first to abandon "guitar technique" on the lute: he experimented with traditional lute techniques, and their expressive possibilities and implications: e.g. hand positioning, thumb-index alternation, etc.^[1].

He taught at the Hochschule für Musik Köln.

References

1. ^ Jo Van Herck (Aug. 2001). "Pioneers of the Lute Revivial". Belgian Lute Academy. http://www.lute-academy.be/docstore/JVHPioneers.pdf. 

External links

• http://susanjking.com/susanjking.com/Home.html

There is a page dedicated to Michael Schäffer on this site

Recordings

• French Baroque Lute Suites, rec. Nov 1997; Sean; CD release by Sony; Review
• Josef Haydn: Music for Lute and Strings (Michael Schäffer, Eva Nagora, Franz Beyer, Thomas Blees) LP; compiled on the CD: Music For Lute, Guitar, And Mandolin, VOX ASIN B001J4ZORA
• French Lute Music; Turnabout Records

Persondata
Name	Schaffer, Michael
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Date of birth	11 November 1937
Place of birth
Date of death	7 September 1978
Place of death