{{short description|American musician (1961 – 2023)}} {{Multiple issues|{{Unreliable sources|some=no|date=September 2025}}}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Michaela Paetsch Neftel | image = Michaela Modjeska Paetsch Neftel (12 Nov 1961 in Colorado Springs - 20 Jan 2023 in Bern, Switzerland).jpg | caption = Michaela Paetsch Neftel with her violin | image_size = | birth_name = Michaela Modjeska Paetsch | birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1961|11|12}} | birth_place = Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2023|1|20|1961|11|12}} | death_place = Bern, Switzerland | occupation = Concert violinist | years_active = 1971–2023 | spouse = {{unbulleted list| {{marriage|Klaus Neftel|1990}} }} | children = 1 | parents = {{plainlist| * Günther Johannes Paetsch {{small|(father)}} * Priscilla Paetsch {{small|(mother)}} }} | relatives = Johann Sebastian Paetsch {{small|(brother)}} | website = }}
'''Michaela Paetsch Neftel''' (November 12, 1964 - January 20, 2023), also known as '''Michaela Modjeska Paetsch,''' was an American violinist.
==Early life==
Paetsch was born on November 12, 1961, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to cellist Günther Johannes Paetsch and violinist Priscilla Paetsch, both of whom played in the noted Colorado Springs Symphony.<ref name="Angels">{{cite web |last1=Lusk |first1=Alison Pierce |date=23 Jul 1977 |title=Musical Angels Are 'Normal Kids' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/82239550/ |access-date=Feb 20, 2023 |website=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph}}</ref><ref name="Tour">{{cite web |date=17 Mar 1973 |title=Paetsch Family Orchestra Begins State Concert Tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/88137854/ |access-date=Feb 21, 2023 |website=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph}}</ref>
When Paetsch was 12 years old, she won both the Colorado Springs Young Artists Contest and the Pueblo Young Artists Contest.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Niles |first=Laurie |title=Violinist Michaela Paetsch (1961-2023), First American Woman to Record 24 Paganini Caprices |url=https://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20231/29495/ |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=Violinist.com |language=en-us}}</ref> She subsequently 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.<ref name="Paetsches">{{cite web |date=22 May 1976 |title=Paetsch Family Concert on Sunday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/62191107/ |access-date=Feb 20, 2023 |website=Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph}}</ref>
At the age of 14, Paetsch was the youngest full-time member of the Colorado Springs Symphony<ref name="Paetsches" />, which she did while attending Cheyenne Mountain High School.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jan 25, 1975, page 51 - Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph at Newspapers.com™ |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/63161999/ |access-date=2025-11-18 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> At 16 years old, she won first prize in the National String Competition held in Chicago, Illinois.<ref>{{cite web |date=22 April 1978 |title=Young Violinist Honored |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85044727/?terms=Michaela%20Paetsch&match=1 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023 |website=Gazette Telegraph}}</ref>
== Career ==
===1970s===
In 1972, Paetsch became the concertmaster of the Cosmic Heights Chamber Orchestra and played as a first violinist and soloist with the Baroque Players.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paetsch Quartet Gives Concert at Unity Church |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85052881/ |website=Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph |date=13 May 1972 |access-date=Feb 21, 2023}}</ref> The Paetsch String Sextet, a family group formed in 1972, consisted of Michaela as concertmaster and solo violist; Priscilla Paetsch as both violinist and violist; Günther Johannes Paetsch as the principal cellist; Brigitte and Phebe Paetsch performing the tutti voices and solo inner violin and viola parts, and Johann Sebastian Paetsch as the continuo cellist, a chordal instrument considered part of the ''basso continuo'' part.<ref name=":0" />
thumb|Paetsch Family Chamber Music Ensemble in 1973In 1979, Paetsch performed ''Dvořák's Violin Concerto'' with Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Debut Orchestra of Young Musicians Foundation in the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, California.<ref>{{cite web |title=YMF Debut Orchestra at Ebell |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/385249168/ |website=The Los Angeles Times |date=16 Oct 1979 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=YMF Debut Orchestra |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/385282123/ |website=The Los Angeles Times |date=14 Oct 1979 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=YMF to Open Oct. 14 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/606434401/ |website=New Pilot |date=26 Sep 1979 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}</ref>
===1980s=== thumb|Paetsch at the Garden of the Gods, Colorado in 1980|left
Paetsch went to study at Yale University with the Polish-born violinist Szymon Goldberg, who also taught Paetsch’s mother, Priscilla.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Paetsch followed Goldberg to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia,<ref name="Violinist">{{cite web |date=10 May 1984 |title=Notes on Arts - Violinist Michaela Paetsch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/174552281/ |access-date=Feb 20, 2023 |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref><ref name="Queen">{{cite web |date=28 May 1985 |title=Queen Elisabeth Competition - Michaela Paetsch |url=https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/laureates/michaela-paetsch/155/ |access-date=Feb 21, 2023 |website=Queen Elisabeth Competition}}</ref> where he continued teaching after leaving Yale due to its mandatory retirement age.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} In one of her recitals at the Curtis Institute, she performed solo works by Bach, Paganini, and Bartòk, and premiered Daron Aric Hagen's “Occasional Notes” and William Coble's “Intrada”.<ref name="Recital">{{cite web |title=3 Young musicians who are on the move |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/174117808/ |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=16 Feb 1985 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}</ref>
On 4 July 1986, Paetsch was awarded a special prize for the best performance of a compulsory work by Russian composer Yuri Falik at the closing ceremony of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, which is held every four years in Moscow, Russia.<ref name="newspapers.com">{{cite web |date=26 Jun 1986 |title=2 Americans among finalists in violin contest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/655267160/ |access-date=Feb 21, 2023 |website=The News and Observer}}</ref> Her brother, Johann Paetsch, participated in the cello competition at the same event.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}
In October 1987, Paetsch played three concerts in Holland, directed by the leader of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} The orchestra's manager 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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Shortly after, German recording company Teldec signed her to a recording contract.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Schulgold |first1=Marc |title="Violinist plays Europe; ready to win over America" |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/155150482/?terms=Michaela%20Paetsch&match=1 |access-date=21 Feb 2023 |agency=The News Journal |date=25 Apr 1988}}</ref>
In October 1987, Paetsch recorded the 24 Capricci, Op.1 by Niccolò Paganini for Teldec.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Molkhou |first1=Jean-Michel |title="Michaela Paetsch (1961-2023), "a pioneer"" |url=https://classica.fr/michaela-paetsch-1961-2023-une-pionniere/ |access-date=22 Feb 2023 |agency=Classica |date=24 Jan 2023}}</ref> Paetsch then returned to Denver to perform the Brahm's Violin Concerto in D Major with Maestro JoAnn Falletta and the Denver Chamber Orchestra in April 1988.
In the summer of 1988, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Charles Ansbacher, invited Paetsch to play in Colorado Springs and in the Ford Amphitheatre in Vail, where she performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Summer brings Symphony out to the parks |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=pubname%3ACSGB%21Gazette%252C%2BThe%2B%2528Colorado%2BSprings%252C%2BCO%2529&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=Michaela%20Paetsch&docref=news/0F34BCEA523B464C |agency=The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) |date=9 Sep 1988 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Michaela Paetsch and Johann Sebastian Paetsch playing the Brahms Double Concerto with piano in preparation for being the soloists with the Calgary Philharmonic, Jasper Park Lodge summer of 1983, Canada.jpg|thumb|Paetsch and her brother Johann performing the Brahms Double Concerto]]Paetsch performed for audiences worldwide as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across the world.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Notably, she played venues such as Carnegie Hall and Avery Fischer Hall in New York, as well as at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}
Paetsch also performed at music festivals, including Marlboro in Vermont, Davos in Switzerland, Brandenburg Summer Concerts in Berlin, Banff in Canada, and Boulder Bach Festival and the "Mostly Mozart" festivals in New York.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Michaela Paetsch |url=https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/laureates/michaela-paetsch/ |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=Queen Elisabeth Competition |language=fr}}</ref> She participated in the Rhein-Sieg and Niederrhein Chamber Music Festivals, both located in Germany.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Violinist Michaela Paetsch has died |url=https://www.thestrad.com/news/violinist-michaela-paetsch-has-died/16009.article |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=The Strad |language=en}}</ref>
Paetsch performed internationally, appearing with orchestras in Japan, South Korea, Belgium, Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Italy.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Her engagements included the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; the philharmonic orchestras of Osaka and Seoul; the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège; and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. She also worked with ensembles such as the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Residentie Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}
Paetsch collaborated with conductors including Kent Nagano, Dmitri Kitayenko, Horst Stein, and Myung-whun Chung.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="Queen" /><ref name="Bio">{{Cite web |url=http://www.galileo-mc.com/interpret.php?interpretid=203&inhalt=bio |title=A short Bio of Michaela Paetsch |access-date=2007-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927040356/http://www.galileo-mc.com/interpret.php?interpretid=203&inhalt=bio |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
thumb|left|250px|Paetsch and family members after a concert in Bellmund, Switzerland 2019
Her recorded music contains 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, Brahms' "21 Hungarian Dances" and "La Capricieuse".{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Paetsch also contributed to the live recording of Sofia Gubaidulina's Offertorium as the featured soloist with the Bern Symphony Orchestra.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Her recordings have been released through record labels such as Sony Classical, Arte Nova (BMG), CPO, Tudor and ARSIS.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Queen" /> Paetsch was the first American woman to record all 24 Paganini Caprices for solo violin.<ref name=":2" />
In 1993, Paetsch became the violinist for the quartet Ensemble Incanto, with which she toured extensively and recorded regularly.<ref name="Queen" />
== Personal life ==
On August 3 1990, Paetsch married Klaus Neftel in Bern, Switzerland. Their daughter, Anna Nora Neftel, was born in 1992.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}
Paetsch was a horse rider and broke her first stallion at age nine.<ref name=Strings>Farrell, John Aloysius. ''Strings that bind - Family's music is a way of life''. Denver, Colorado. The Denver Post. 9 Mar 1986. pp.1-A & 6-A</ref> Her parents also raised Polish-bred registered Purebred Arabian horses at their house in Colorado Springs.<ref name="Priscilla">Campbell,Robin. ''The Paetsch Family Ensemble: Musically coming of age''. Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colorado Springs Sun, 13 Nov 1977.</ref>
== Death ==
Paetsch died in a palliative clinic in Bern, Switzerland, on January 20, 2023, at the age of 61, from complications due to cancer.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite news |title="Something you can't teach," family reflects on the life of world-renowned Colorado Springs violinist |url=https://krdo.com/news/2023/01/26/something-you-cant-teach-family-reflects-on-the-life-of-world-renowned-colorado-springs-violinist/ |publisher=KRDO News |date=26 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}</ref>
== Awards ==
* 1984, First prize, G. B. Dealey Awards<ref>{{cite web |date=9 May 1984 |title=Colorado Violinist Wins Young Musicians' Prize |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/09/arts/colorado-violinist-wins-young-musicians-prize.html |access-date=26 Feb 2023 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Winners">{{cite web |date=11 May 1984 |title=Winners |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/612478458/ |access-date=Feb 20, 2023 |website=The Kilgore News Herald}}</ref> * 1985, First prize, Queen Elisabeth Competition<ref name="Queen" /> * 1986, Special prize, International Tchaikovsky Competition<ref name="newspapers.com" /><ref name=":1" />
== Discography ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Release !Composer/Title of work !class="unsortable"|Performer !Label/Catalog no. !Format !Ref |- |1987 |Niccolò Paganini *24 Capricci Op.1 | *Michaela Paetsch ‘’(violin)’’ |Teldec 6.43922 |CD |<ref name="Queen" /> |- |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 *Klarinettenquintett 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 |[https://web.archive.org/web/20050207151320/http://www.ensemble-incanto.de/ Ensemble Incanto - String Quartet] *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 |<ref name="Queen" /> |- |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 | |}
==References==
{{reflist|25em}}
==External links== * Michaela Paetsch's home page is [http://www.michaelapaetsch.com http://www.michaelapaetsch.com]. * {{discogs artist|Michaela Paetsch}} * [https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/laureates/michaela-paetsch/2212 Bio from the Queen Elisabeth International Competition]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paetsch, Michaela}} Category:1961 births Category:2023 deaths Category:American people of German descent Category:Musicians from Colorado Springs, Colorado Category:American women classical violinists Category:21st-century American women musicians Category:21st-century American classical violinists Category:20th-century American women musicians Category:20th-century American classical violinists Category:American expatriates in Switzerland