On 14 August, Michael Scheck passed away, surprisingly and unexpectedly for many. It was as if his ever youthful enthusiasm radiated an eternal life.
He was the young oboist who set the tone at the Antwerp Philharmonic in the sixties, he was the founder of the Antwerp Bach Choir in the seventies, and he closed, as the very last, beginning with Peter Benoit, the line of directors of the Royal Flemish Conservatory Antwerp in the nineties. And so much more. For he initiated, led or guided all sorts of initiatives, combining being a genuine musician with tactful, diplomatic insight: the Study Centre for Flemish Music, the Peter Benoit Fund, the activities of AMUZ and Laus Polyphoniae, choral life in Flanders, etc. Michael always had respect for the expertise of others and remained endlessly interested in every new, young talent.
Strangely, paradoxically perhaps, how he, as a foreigner – Michael Scheck came to the Antwerp Philharmonic at the age of 28 as a young German oboist – increasingly took on a pioneering role here, in our country, in promoting Flemish music. No, not to pursue some canon with which we could bestow an aura upon ourselves, but simply out of curiosity towards both the music from Rubens' time and what the youngest generation of composers here achieves. And also out of concern and a sense of responsibility for not losing a rich musical heritage. Hence the founding of the Study Centre for Flemish Music.
Michael Scheck was born in Hamburg in 1933, when his father, Gustav Scheck, was a flutist at the Staatsoper there. The family moved to Berlin where Gustav Scheck became professor of transverse flute at the Berliner Musikhochschule. Characteristic of that time and those circumstances: because the Catholic Church in Germany – in contrast to the Lutheran – offered little resistance to the Nazi regime, the Catholic Scheck family converted to the Lutheran church. Father Scheck: "If the music of Bach was good enough for God, then the religion of Bach is good enough for my children!" Or again: Paul Hindemith dedicated his flute sonata in 1936 to Gustav Scheck, but the planned premiere by Gustav Scheck and Walter Gieseking was banned by Goebbels.
After the war, Gustav Scheck co-founded the Musikhochschule in Freiburg and later became its rector. Michael received his education here. But especially at home, where chamber music was made, and early music, with its "Aufführungspraxis", held a place of honour. Michael exchanged the violin for the oboe and after some initial jobs, including in the Siegerland-Orchester, he became principal oboist at the Antwerp Philharmonic in 1961. Since he could not abandon chamber music, he founded the "Camerata Belgica" together with harpsichordist Christianne Wuyts and colleagues from the Philharmonie, Jos Rademakers and Frans De Jongh. As an oboist, he also lent his collaboration to performances by the Antwerp Halewynkoor under the direction of Hans Dirken, which he took over under dramatic circumstances. Later, in 1973, Michael Scheck founded his own Antwerp Bach Choir which existed until 1991. It was a choir of semi-professional amateurs and professional soloists that achieved a very high level, served as a breeding ground for future professional musicians and… a hotbed of early music enthusiasts! The Antwerp Bach Choir became a household name; I remember wonderful performances at the festival concerts of the Antwerp Rubens Year 1977. International tours followed one another and Michael Scheck's field of work shifted entirely to the choral world. He became a teacher of choir direction at the Royal Conservatories of Antwerp and Ghent, a lecturer at numerous courses and jury member at home and abroad. He participated in the restructuring of music schools and higher arts education in Flanders.
And yes, that's how it goes in such a story: one gets drawn into all sorts of responsibilities and eventually one must say farewell to what one loved most: making music oneself. This happened to Michael Scheck when he took up the position of director of the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory of Antwerp in 1991; he was the last in the line of directors from Benoit until 1995, when the Conservatory merged into the "Department of Dramatic Arts, Music and Dance of the Antwerp University of Applied Sciences". Meanwhile, Michael Scheck managed to use his influence and diplomacy for the founding of the Study Centre for Flemish Music, to give the Peter Benoit Foundation new impetus (including a grandiose Peter Benoit Day at the Singel in 2001) and to participate in the founding of AMUZ. And there is so much more: the programming of the Europalia concerts, the Brussels Bach Choir, etc.
Michael could steer skilfully without imposing his will authoritatively; he could bring people together, sometimes with humour, sometimes with persistence. In doing so, he never lost sight of the starting point and end goal: musical quality. A quality that he himself displayed and genuinely admired in others.
At the top of the obituary for Michael Scheck is a quotation from a short poem by Ringelnatz: "Am Himmel hoch erlosch im Licht ein Stern"
The quotation was chosen by the family. We offer them, and especially his wife Kris, our deepest sympathy.
A star has gone out, but the light it radiated will, as in the universe, continue to shine for a very long time.
Perhaps something personal:
Dear Michael,
You were a born musician with love for your craft,
you were a teacher with infinite insight and patience,
you were a director with dedication, sense of duty and diplomacy,
you were a person with attention for others,
you could charm them with roguishness and nourish them with wisdom,
you were a friend to many, and a friend to me,
but... you were not immortal. What a pity.
Guido
- WHAT: In Memoriam Michael Scheck
- PHOTOS: © Guy Tops (color photo) and AMUZ (black and white photo)
