Sylvia Gähwiller

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Sylvia Gähwiller (1909–1999) was a Swiss soprano and voice teacher. She was best known as a concert and recital singer and for performing works by contemporary composers. Born in Zürich, she trained as a pianist in Breslau and Berlin, then in Vienna, and she earned a teaching diploma in 1932. From 1936 to 1941 she studied voice with Ria Ginster at the Zürich Conservatory.

She sang at Theater St. Gallen (1941–1942) and appeared there as a guest until 1947, taking roles such as Pamina, Konstanze, Countess Almaviva, Mimì, Rosina and Martha. Gähwiller became internationally known mainly as a concert and lieder singer, performing works by Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, as well as contemporary composers like Hindemith, Burkhard, Honegger, Berg, Ravel, Bartók, Krenek and Schoenberg.

Her recordings include Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare in Egitto and Poppea in L’incoronazione di Poppea, among others, and Zürcher Liederbuch (1986). In the 1960s and 1970s she taught singing at the Zürich and Winterthur conservatories, then gave private lessons. Her students included Carmen Anhorn, Jacqueline Bügler, Barbara Geiser-Peyer, Hedy Graf, Kathrin Graf, Hedda Heusser, Barbara Martig-Tüller and the baritones Hans Riediker and Niklaus Tüller.