Nikolaus Schaack
Nikolaus Schaack was a Luxembourgish–Brazilian zither player, arranger, composer, and cultural figure. Recognized in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart as a pioneer of modern zither technique, he expanded the instrument’s classical repertoire through original compositions and transcriptions of works by Bach, Debussy, Schumann, Chopin, Villa‑Lobos, and others. His transcription of Bach’s Chaconne is regarded as a landmark of the concert‑zither repertoire.
Schaack pursued a parallel career as a business executive and served as Consul of Luxembourg in Rio de Janeiro. After settling in Brazil, he became active in the country’s cultural life, including as one of the founders of São Paulo’s Sociedade de Cultura Artística. His recordings, notably the album Zither at 80, continue to circulate internationally.
Early life and education
Schaack was born on 7 July 1892 in Hamm, Luxembourg City to Mathias Schaack and Magdalena Jeanpierre. He began studying the zither at the age of eight and later enrolled at the Luxembourg Conservatory, where he studied violin, piano with Victor Vreuls, and composition, counterpoint, and fugue with Egon Kornauth, who later became a professor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.While pursuing his musical studies, Schaack worked part‑time in commerce, a dual path he maintained throughout his early adulthood. A formative moment occurred in 1912 when he met the Austrian zither virtuoso Richard Grünwald, whose innovative approach to the instrument profoundly influenced him. Under Grünwald’s guidance, Schaack decided to devote himself primarily to the concert zither. From 1913 to 1914 he lived in Dortmund, working full‑time in commerce while continuing evening studies in theory and piano.
Musical career
After emigrating to Brazil, Schaack became an influential figure in the country’s classical zither community. He contributed to the magazine Muse des Saitenspiels and maintained extensive correspondence with leading zither players and composers from 1912 onward. His letters, preserved by his family, document major developments in twentieth‑century zither technique and repertoire.Schaack composed primarily in a polyphonic, Baroque‑inspired idiom, writing toccatas, inventions, and fugues for the concert zither. He also produced numerous transcriptions and arrangements of classical works, including Bach’s Chaconne, keyboard preludes, and movements from the violin partitas and cello suites; Debussy piano pieces; Schumann character works; and Brazilian compositions by Francisco Mignone and Waldemar Henrique. Many of his works were published by Musikverlag Jellinghaus in Dortmund.
The 1924 edition of Handbuch der musikalischen Literatur for compositions created between 1919 and 1923 mentions Schaack's two first compositions: Siegesjubelmarsch and Gruss ans Müllertal Marsch.
His technical innovations—particularly his approach to timbre and polyphonic articulation—were noted in Brandlmeier’s Handbuch der Zither and in the MGG article on the instrument. At the request of the Brazilian Quartet of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, he arranged several of his zither works for string quartet, which were subsequently performed.
Music Educator
Schaack also had zither students, such as :pt:Avena_de_Castro, who mentioned Nikolaus Schaack as "the 2nd highest world authority in zither", after Richard Grünwald, in his interview to Correio da Manhã in 1950.Professional and diplomatic career
Alongside his musical activities, Schaack pursued a professional career in business. He served as Consul of Luxembourg in Rio de Janeiro and was a director of Companhia Siderúrgica Belgo‑Mineira, Brazil’s largest steel producer at the time, with Jornal do Comércio naming him in a 1946 report. He was also one of the founders of São Paulo’s Sociedade de Cultura Artística.From 1947 to 1954, he was a member of the board of Companhia Territorial de Osasco, as well as in 1950 of CIMAF.
From 1957 to 1959, Schaack served as a full member of the Fiscal Council of the Companhia Administradora Caraúna, a real‑estate and investment firm based in Rio de Janeiro.
Schaack started his career as consul on 10 September 1948. He was still Luxembourg's consul in Rio as of 1955. He is also noted as such in the 1958 Luxembourg Day festivities.
In the 1959 visit of Luxembourg's Prince Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and his wife Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, Shaack also parcipated as honorary consul.
On 25 September 1965, Jornal do Comércio registered Consul Nikolaus Schaack and his wife Mathilde Schaack's presence at the reception hosted by Affonso de Toledo Bandeira de Mello in honor of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and his wife Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, as of their visit to Rio de Janeiro.
Recordings
Schaack’s best‑known recording is the album Zither at 80, released when he was eighty years old. The album features classical transcriptions and original works and remains available on streaming platforms such as Spotify and YouTube. Earlier in his career, his performances circulated through radio broadcasts and private recordings.Arrangements and compositions
Schaack’s output includes original compositions and a substantial body of transcriptions for the concert zither. His works include:- Polyphonic compositions in Baroque style
- Transcriptions of Bach’s Chaconne, keyboard preludes, movements from the violin partitas and cello suites
- Arrangements of Debussy, Schumann, Chopin, Gluck, and Tchaikovsky
- Transcriptions of Brazilian works by Francisco Mignone and Waldemar Henrique
- Revisions of existing zither arrangements, including Villa‑Lobos’s Preludes
Schaack’s Invention is cited in Brandlmeier’s analysis of zither polyphony and is presented alongside works by Grünwald, Blomqvist, and others as exemplary literature for advanced players.
Style and influence
Schaack’s playing was noted for its clarity, expressive nuance, and technical precision. Pamela Hickman described his style as “elegant, lyrical, and technically assured.”He developed a distinctive approach to timbre, famously noting that on the zither he could “play the same chord with more than 30 different timbres.” His correspondence with major zither figures is considered an important source for understanding the instrument’s twentieth‑century evolution.
Nikolaus Schaack is cited extensively in Josef Brandlmeier’s Handbuch der Zither as a leading figure in the development of modern zither technique. His work is referenced in discussions of polyphonic fingering, transmission between playing zones, and the expressive use of timbre. Schaack’s compositions are used to illustrate advanced three-voice writing and contrapuntal texture, and his theoretical insights are quoted in chapters on instrumental style and notation.
Recognition in technical literature
Nikolaus Schaack is cited in multiple chapters of Josef Brandlmeier’s Handbuch der Zither, a foundational reference work in zither pedagogy. His compositions are used to illustrate contrapuntal writing, voice distribution, and expressive fingering techniques. Schaack’s theoretical remarks are quoted in discussions of instrumental style, notation, and the acoustic properties of the zither. His work is presented alongside that of Richard Grünwald, Ott, and Swoboda, confirming his place in the canon of twentieth-century zither literature.Personal life
Schaack married Mathilde Schaack, with whom he had one daughter, Yvonne. Yvonne later married the industrialist Leon Herzog and became the mother of the musician and musicologist Myrna Herzog.In 1924, before moving to Rio, Schaack lived in São Paulo with his family, as registered in Rio Cosmopolita, on a list of "visitors staying at Rio de Janeiro's principal hotels".
As of 1944, and at least through 1952, Schaack resided at Rua Carvalho Azevedo, 72, as shown at Guia Vermelho do Automobilista.
He lived for many years in Rio de Janeiro, where he remained active as a musician. Schaack was multilingual, reading in French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, and Luxembourgish, and maintained wide intellectual interests, including literature, philosophy, science, medicine, mathematics, psychology, cybernetics, and apiculture. He was an early advocate for ecological awareness and kept bees for personal honey production.
Later life and death
Schaack died on 9 September 1981 in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 89. His death certificate lists his occupation as “aposentado” and his nationality as Luxembourgish. He was buried at the Cemitério São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro.Legacy
Schaack is regarded as a pioneer of modern zither technique and a key figure in the instrument’s twentieth‑century classical revival. His compositions and transcriptions remain part of the concert‑zither repertoire, and his recordings continue to circulate among performers and collectors. His extensive correspondence, preserved by his family, is considered an important documentary source for zither history and is intended for donation to the International Zither Archive in Trossingen.The inclusion of Schaack’s works and technical commentary throughout Brandlmeier’s Handbuch der Zither confirms his status as a foundational figure in twentieth-century zither pedagogy. His compositions are used to demonstrate stylistic principles, and his theoretical remarks are quoted in chapters on instrumental style, notation, and expressive technique. This sustained presence in a major reference work underscores the lasting influence of his musical and pedagogical contributions.