JAVS Fall 2020

News &Notes

In Memoriam: Hans-Karl Piltz 1923–2020

By Ginger Sedlarova

Their daughter Heidi was born while they lived in Atlanta. Hans had already begun teaching at colleges and universities in the U.S. when in 1959 he received an irresistible offer from Vancouver: become a faculty member of the UBC

It is with incredible sadness that we announce the sudden passing of musician, husband, teacher and father Hans Karl Piltz on April 11, 2020 at the age of 96. Hans was born on October 15, 1923, in Lobenstein, Germany. At the age of four, he crossed the ocean with his sister and mother on the S.S. Berlin, arriving at Ellis Island, N.Y., on March 25, 1928. They immediately headed for Chicago, Illinois, reuniting with his father, who had crossed first. It was in Chicago that Hans first picked up a violin and began to play, taking lessons at the family’s church. That first violin began a passion for playing music, leading him to the viola and later also the viola d’amore. He switched full-time to the viola while playing in his high school orchestra. As he grew more accomplished, Hans began to play in a variety of duos, trios and quartets until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1941, where he served in the signal corps during WWII. Even war couldn’t come between Hans and a fiddle—he sought out instruments to play wherever he was posted in Europe. Returning to America post-war, Hans studied viola, first with Milton Preves, then principal violist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and also via the G.I. Bill at Northwestern University, receiving his master’s degree in performance. He then auditioned for a position with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra at the same time as another talented violinist, Irene Simo. Hans got the position that day, and he also got his girl when Irene ended up joining the orchestra a week later. They were married on September 29, 1951, and spent years playing together in a variety of orchestras and touring ensembles around North America. This time in his life included positions such as principal violist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and two years as soloist and principal violist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Hans-Karl Piltz at one of his final performances with the West Coast Symphony. Photo by Ginger Sedlarova

Department of Music (now UBC School of Music) and be one of the architects of their new Bachelor of Music degree program. The family packed up the car and drove across the continent so Hans could begin this newest chapter in his music career. His role at UBC that first year included teaching violin and viola to incoming students, starting an orchestra, teaching music history, starting a teaching course for strings in local public schools, and much more. Son Dieter arrived a few years after Hans started teaching in Vancouver. As well as being passionate about teaching, Hans would also play his instruments whenever he could. The list of who he performed with could fill this entire page, but it includes: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the West Coast Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and the CBC. He was a founder of Early Music Vancouver, the founder and first conductor of the UBC Symphony Orchestra, a guest conductor and viola d’amore soloist for the Vancouver Chamber Players,

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 36, No. 2, Fall 2020

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