Norman Shetler (16 June 1931 – 25 June 2024) was an American-born pianist, puppeteer, puppet constructor and piano professor who lived most of his adult life in Austria.
Norman Shetler was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on 16 June 1931. [1] [2]
While a student in Vienna, the Soviet Union funded his participation in the first Tchaikovsky Competition. [3] There he met Van Cliburn. He also dreamed of studying with the Soviet virtuoso Sviatoslav Richter.[ importance?]
In 1955 he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he studied piano[ where?], graduating in 1959. He specialized in accompanying singers, [4] having worked with Anneliese Rothenberger, Peter Schreier, [5] [6] Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, [7] Brigitte Fassbaender, Hermann Prey, Margaret Price and Thomas Quasthoff, [8] and also with instrumentalists such as violinist Nathan Milstein and cellist Heinrich Schiff. Despite specializing in accompanying, he was also a soloist. [9] [10] He was recorded over 70 times.[ citation needed]
Between 1983 and 1991, Shetler taught Piano and Lied Accompaniment at the Würzburg School of Music and Drama. [2] Beginning in 1992, he was a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He also taught masterclasses, particularly at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. [11] [12] [13]
Shetler was also a puppet maker and puppeteer beginning no later than 1985. [14] His show "Musical Puppet Cabaret" toured internationally, in festivals and on television. [15] [16] [17]
Shetler died on 25 June 2024, at the age of 93. [18]
Norman Shetler (16 June 1931 – 25 June 2024) was an American-born pianist, puppeteer, puppet constructor and piano professor who lived most of his adult life in Austria.
Norman Shetler was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on 16 June 1931. [1] [2]
While a student in Vienna, the Soviet Union funded his participation in the first Tchaikovsky Competition. [3] There he met Van Cliburn. He also dreamed of studying with the Soviet virtuoso Sviatoslav Richter.[ importance?]
In 1955 he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he studied piano[ where?], graduating in 1959. He specialized in accompanying singers, [4] having worked with Anneliese Rothenberger, Peter Schreier, [5] [6] Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, [7] Brigitte Fassbaender, Hermann Prey, Margaret Price and Thomas Quasthoff, [8] and also with instrumentalists such as violinist Nathan Milstein and cellist Heinrich Schiff. Despite specializing in accompanying, he was also a soloist. [9] [10] He was recorded over 70 times.[ citation needed]
Between 1983 and 1991, Shetler taught Piano and Lied Accompaniment at the Würzburg School of Music and Drama. [2] Beginning in 1992, he was a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He also taught masterclasses, particularly at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. [11] [12] [13]
Shetler was also a puppet maker and puppeteer beginning no later than 1985. [14] His show "Musical Puppet Cabaret" toured internationally, in festivals and on television. [15] [16] [17]
Shetler died on 25 June 2024, at the age of 93. [18]