Michaela Paetsch

Neftel was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the second oldest of seven children born to parents Günther Johannes Paetsch and Priscilla Paetsch. She was named after Polish actress Helena Modjeska.Paetsch family plans Mothers Day concert. Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Sun. 3 May 1974. p.11

Paetsch was raised with two sisters (Phebe and Brigitte) and four brothers (Johann, Christian, Englebert and Siegmund).{{cite web |title=Local violinist to perform with prestigious orchestra |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/537668296/?terms=Michaela%20Paetsch&match=1 |website=The Daily Sentinel |date=22 June 1979 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}} Paetsch's father was a cellist and her mother was a violinist. Both her parents played in the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra. They also taught their seven children to play stringed instruments.{{cite web |title=Queen Elisabeth Competition - Michaela Paetsch |url=https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/laureates/michaela-paetsch/155/ |website=Queen Elisabeth Competition |date=28 May 1985 |access-date=Feb 21, 2023}}

Paetsch's ancestry allegedly extends back to the Mayflower as five ancestors including Governor William Bradford, John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley came over to the New World on the English ship by that name in 1620 and the Paetsch children are direct descendants of several Mayflower Pilgrims. Her family had been in North America for many generations. In fact, Michaela Paetsch is a direct descendant of Mayflower passenger Governor William Bradford, who is her 9th great grandfather. Five generations of this family have been connected with Colorado Springs.{{cite news |date=30 December 1986 |title=Obituaries and Funerals - Helena Drea |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/548453933/ |access-date=February 21, 2023 |newspaper=The Brattleboro Reformer}}

Neftel was given her first violin lesson at the age of three, by her mother. {{cite web |last1=Lusk |first1=Alison Pierce |title=Musical Angels Are 'Normal Kids' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/82239550/ |website=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph |date=23 Jul 1977 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}

File:Michaela Modjeska Paetsch with her mouth on the Violin pegs, 1962.jpg

Paetsch reportedly showed great interest in the violin as a kid. After her father took apart a violin, she took interest in it and used to carry it around.

The children and both their parents, who were professional musicians, formed the Paetsch Family Chamber Music Ensemble. Together, they gave concerts throughout the state of Colorado. Michaela Paetsch gave her first public recital at the age of seven.{{cite web |title=Denver Symphony slates free concert March 27 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/25062022/?terms=Michaela%20Paetsch&match=1 |website=Greeley Dailey Tribune |date=23 Mar 1977 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}} She performed with the Baroque Players in Colorado Springs, as well as the Jefferson Symphony in Golden, Colorado.

Michaela went to Skyway Elementary School.{{cite web |date=6 May 1972 |title=Paetsch Six Set Chamber Music Show |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85047955/ |access-date=Feb 21, 2023 |website=Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph}}

In 1970, by the time Michaela was nine she was the first-chair violinist for the Fort Carson Little Theatre production of the “Fiddler on the Roof.” Her playing began to receive attention and she attended the Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School only half a day to devote more of herself to music.

In 1972, at the age of ten, Michaela Paetsch was concertmaster of the Cosmic Heights Chamber Orchestra and played as a first violinist and soloist with the Baroque Players.{{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}}

In 1972, for the Centennial Celebration of Colorado Springs’ 100 years as an incorporated city, the Paetsch family of Colorado Springs gave a concert in conjunction with Heritage Day on the lawn of the El Paso County Court House.{{cite web |title=String Concert by Paetsch Family Scheduled Friday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/58947716/ |website=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph |date=13 Jul 1972 |access-date=Feb 21, 2023}}

File:Paetsch Family Chamber Music Ensemble in 1973.jpg

On Sunday, March 18, 1973, the Paetsch Family Orchestra began a series of concerts throughout the state of Colorado starting at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center in Pueblo. Michaela Paetsch, who was 11, was featured playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in D Minor, the Vitali “Chaconne”, Vivaldi “Season’ and the first violin solo part of the Sixth Brandenburg Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach.{{cite web |title=Paetsch Family Orchestra Begins State Concert Tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/88137854/ |website=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph |date=17 Mar 1973 |access-date=Feb 21, 2023}} Gunther Paetsch was quoted in saying: “Although the children are still very young, they are very dedicated to their art. They arise at 6 a.m. daily to practice their violins and violas for two hours before breakfast.”

Gunther Paetsch was quoted saying: “I believe that in this time, when most children spend a lot of time passively in front of television, it is especially important that children can enjoy and be actively engaged in some artistic and creative field. This will benefit all other fields.” The Paetsch String Sextet consisted in 1972 of Michaela Modjeska Paetsch as concertmaster and solo violist, Priscilla Paetsch as violinist and violist, Gunther Paetsch as principal cellist and the tutti voices and solo inner violin and viola parts were played by Brigitte and Phebe Paetsch. Johann Sebastian Paetsch was Continuo cellist. One of the programs included Vivaldi's double violin concerto, Corelli's double violin concerto, Mozart's divertimento and Johann Sebastian Bach's 6th Brandenburg Concerto which was at that time rarely heard and seldom performed because of its unusual orchestration in the score. It was written only for violas and cellos and was dedicated to the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg, in Germany. The two solo viola parts were a trial of virtuosity and were played by Michaela and her mother Priscilla.

When she was 12 years old she won both the Colorado Springs Young Artists contest and the Pueblo Young Artists contest. As a result, she appeared at that age as soloist with the Colorado Springs Symphony, the Pueblo Symphony under the direction of Gerhard Track and the Jefferson Symphony in Denver, Colorado.{{cite web |title=Paetsch Family Concert on Sunday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/62191107/ |website=Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph |date=22 May 1976 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}

In the summer of 1975 Michaela was given a scholarship by the Colorado Springs Symphony Guild and Mr. and by Mrs. George Vradenburg of Colorado Springs to go and study in the Meadowmount School of Music in Upstate New York with Ivan Galamian and Joseph Gingold.{{cite web |title=The Paetsch Chamber Music Ensemble |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/63504224/ |website=Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph |date=16 Apr 1977 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}

At the age of 14, Michaela was the youngest full time member (sitting next to her mother Priscilla, in the first violin section) of the Colorado Springs Symphony in its history.

File:Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra, with Brigitte Paetsch, Priscilla Paetsch ,Michaela Paetsch, Gunther Paetsch and Johann S. Paetsch in 1978.jpg

The Rocky Mountain News wrote about the ensemble: “One had to be amazed, that everything was performed so well. The audience responded with a standing ovation before intermission. The group had won the hearts of the audience.” The Pueblo Chieftain wrote: “The Paetsch Family is truly gifted in terms of discipline, talent and the desire to give of themselves. It is amazing to see six members of a family who have learned to play together with total accuracy and sensitivity.”

File:The Paetsch Family Chamber Music Ensemble in Colorado Springs, CO, USA.jpg

Critics praised the level a maturity in the family performance, with one reviewer of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph writing “When children who look like angels also perform like angels, who possess all the skill necessary to tackle the heroic, Herculean and at times unfathomable Brahms Sextet - when cascading technical passages are performed with effortless execution and are marked by a lush tone and a perfect intonation that make the Brahms masterpiece a glorious sound of syncopation, excitement, breadth and brilliance, then we have true greatness in our midst. The Paetsch family, including mother, father and their angelic-looking children display musical discipline and artistry of the highest form and are truly worthy of all the support our community can possibly give them.” The Paetsch family was often called “The Trapp Family of Colorado.”{{cite web |title=First Church of the Nazarene |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/63506169/ |website=Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph |date=23 Apr 1977 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}

In recognition of their services to the community the family was recently nominated for the “American Musical Family Award” given by the American Music Conference.

Michaela Paetsch, who was in Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School at the time, together with her family, played concerts three times a day and three times a week for schools, for nursing homes, and for hospitals. One year they played more than 300 concerts. Mark Arnest of The Gazette in Colorado Springs wrote:

{{blockquote|”Once upon a time, the name “Paetsch” was the biggest name in classical music in Colorado Springs--and the most numerous.”{{cite news |last1=Arnest |first1=Mark |title=Once upon a time, the name Paetsch |url=https://gazette.com/ |agency=The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) |date=2 Apr 2004 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}}}

Michaela practiced a minimum of four hours a day, and increased that amount when she was preparing for competitions.{{cite web |title=GJ turns out for first symphony |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/537558904/ |website=The Daily Sentinel |date=15 Oct 1978 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}} At 16, she won first prize in the National String Competition sponsored by the American String Teachers Association which was held in Chicago, Illinois.{{cite web |title=Young Violinist Honored |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85044727/?terms=Michaela%20Paetsch&match=1 |website=Gazette Telegraph |date=22 April 1978 |access-date=Feb 20, 2023}}

File:Michaela Modjeska Paetsch with a cowboy hat riding her purebred Arabian Stallion, Nakiro.jpgMichaela said once in an interview: “I knew when I was 3 years old that I would be a violinist. One of the words I learned was patience, I learned that in a good way.”

In 1979 Michaela performed Dvorak's Violin Concerto with Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Debut Orchestra of Young Musicians Foundation in the Willshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, California.{{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}}{{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}}{{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}}

She graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs in June 1979.

File:Michaela Modjeska Paetsch and her violin on a sunrise at the Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the background.jpg

The true tale of the unforgettable night in March 1980 when their Dodge Maxi Van broke down on the journey home from their exhilarating family concert in Bozeman, Montana, still is talked about. Gunther, having accepted a majestic, young pure-bred Arabian colt as payment for their previous performance, was left destitute, devoid of any cash to carry on. In a bid to satiate their hunger, they valiantly played for their supper at a senior citizen's dinner in Chugwater, Wyoming. With nowhere to go, they sought refuge in a nearby church for the next few days until the part would arrive to fix the van. In the midst of this turmoil, Michaela and Priscilla took to the roads, bravely hitch-hiking their way on the highway in the middle of the night to catch an airplane out of Denver to the east for another concert, their intrepid spirit driving them forward. The pure-bred Arabian colt that they had acquired was named "Nakiro," a name that would go on to hold great significance for Michaela, who trained and rode the young stallion in the rugged mountains behind their house, forging an unbreakable bond.

Michaela Paetsch went to study at Yale University with the famous Polish-born violinist Szymon Goldberg. It just happened that Szymon Goldberg had also been the teacher of Priscilla (Michaela’s mother) when Priscilla was younger. Yale had a mandatory retirement age so Goldberg had to retire and but he continued teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music. She followed him and studied with him also at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.{{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}} In one her many recitals at the Curtis Institute she programed the solo works by Bach, Paganini and Bartok and premiered Daron Aric Hagen's “Occasional Notes” and William Coble's “Intrada.”{{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}} Daron Hagen was quoted as saying: “I want Michaela to keep appearing before the public. She is in that netherworld between leaving school and winning the big competition.” Both Daron and Coble learned a great deal about the violin's possibilities from hearing Michaela Paetsch play and seeing her at work on the instrument.

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

Violinist Michaela Paetsch received a special prize for the best performance of a compulsory work by Russian composer Yuri Falik at the closing ceremony on July 4, 1986, in the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia. Her brother Johann Paetsch took part in the cello competition at the same time in Moscow.

In an interview with Michaela by John Aloysius Farrell with the Denver Post in 1986, she was quoted saying:{{quote box|width=23em|When I'm on stage I try to find people in the audience who need something special. I can see it in their eyes. They're dying for something like the shivers you get get from music. I try to do something special for them. And if I can give them the love and happiness of music and some shivers that's great.|salign=right|source=–Michaela Modjeska Paetsch{{cite news|last1=Paetsch |first1=Michaela Modjeska |title=Strings that bind, Family's music is a way of life |url=https://www.denverpost.com/ |newspaper=The Denver Post |publication-place= Denver, Colorado |date=9 Mar 1986 |page=7A |access-date= 25 Feb 2023}}}}

Michaela Paetsch was told by cellist Aldo Parisot teaching at Yale University, who her brother Johann was studying with at the time, to “Start in Europe, then bring it back here. They'll appreciate you more.” She centered her career in Europe. In October 1987 she played three concerts in Holland, directed by the leader of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. He talked about her to the manager of that orchestra to listen to her. The manager was impressed and arranged for Michaela to come to Zurich and a Swiss millionaire with a rather large collection of stringed instrument loaned her a Guarneri violin to use. Shortly after that, at a private audition, the German recording company, Teldec, signed her up to a recording contract. It was like a Fairy tale that came true.{{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}}

In October 1987, Michaela Paetsch recorded the 24 Capricci, Op.1 by Niccolò Paganini for Teldec.{{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}}

Michaela then returned to Denver to perform the Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major with maestra JoAnn Falletta and the Denver Chamber Orchestra in April 1988, after being quoted as being an “Award-winning violinist and recording artist who recently recorded the Paganini Caprices on a compact disc.”{{cite news |title=Violinist to perform |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/0F34BCD01CD3DB2D |agency=The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) |date=15 Apr 1988 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}

In the summer of 1988, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra with the conductor, Charles Ansbacher invited Michaela to play not only in Colorado Springs but also in the Ford Amphitheatre in Vail. Michaela proved to be an outstanding crowd pleaser with her virtuoso performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor.{{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}}

Michaela has showcased her musical talents as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in prominent musical hubs across the globe. Notably, she has performed at esteemed venues such as Carnegie Hall and Avery Fischer Hall in New York, as well as at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Michaela has also graced the stages of esteemed music festivals including Marlboro in Vermont, Davos in Switzerland, Brandenburg Summer Concerts in Berlin, Banff in Canada, Boulder Bach Festival, and the "Mostly Mozart" festival in New York. Additionally, she has participated in the Rhein-Sieg and Niederrhein Chamber Music Festivals, both located in Germany.

Collaborating with renowned orchestras across the globe, she has performed with ensembles such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and the Philharmonics of Osaka in Japan, as well as the Philharmonic orchestras of Seoul in Korea, Liége in Belgium, and Bergen in Norway. Additionally, she has worked with the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig Germany, the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Residentie Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, amongst others. Her collaborations have brought her under the direction of conductors such as Kent Nagano, Dmitri Kitayenko, Horst Stein and Myung-whun Chung.{{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}}

Her recorded works comprise 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. Additionally, she recorded Brahms' "21 Hungarian Dances" and "La Capricieuse". Michaela has also contributed to the live recording of Sofia Gubaidulina's "Offertorium" as the featured soloist with the Bern Symphony Orchestra. Her recordings have been released through esteemed record labels such as Sony Classical, Arte Nova, cpo, and ARSIS.

From 1993 she had been the violinist for the quartet Ensemble Incanto, with which she toured extensively and recorded regularly. She lived in Bern, Switzerland and then later on moved to the city of Ligerz, Switzerland.

File:Dominic Paetsch, Yoko Paetsch, Michaela Paetsch, Raphaela Paetsch, Valentina Paetsch & Johann S Paetsch after a concert in Bellmund, Switzerland 15 Dec 2019.jpg

On December 15, 2019, Michaela played a Christmas concert in Bellmund (near Biel/Bienne) with her brother Johann and his family. The next day Michaela started Chemotherapy treatment for the recently discovered cancer that she had acquired. The players were Michaela Paetsch, violin; Valentina Paetsch, violin; Yoko Paetsch, viola; Raphaela Paetsch, cello; Dominic Paetsch, cello and Johann S. Paetsch, cello. They played to a sold-out audience a whole evening of pieces that were arranged jointly arranged by Michaela and Johann for 2 violins, viola and 3 cellos.{{cite news |title=Weihnachtskonzert, La Prairie, Paetsch Familie |url=https://www.laprairiebellmund.ch/fruehere-konzerte/ |publisher=La Prairie |date=15 Dec 2019 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Program Paetsch Familie |url=https://www.laprairiebellmund.ch/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Prg._Paetsch_D_fur_HP.pdf |publisher=La Prairie |date=15 Dec 2019 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Michaela Modjeska Paetsch, Konzertmeisterin, Violine |url=https://www.laprairiebellmund.ch/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Paetsch_Family_CVs.pdf |publisher=La Prairie |date=15 Dec 2019 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}

On August 3, 1990, Paetsch married Klaus Neftel in Bern, Switzerland. They had a daughter two years later in 1992, whom they named Anna Nora Neftel. Michaela lived in Ligerz, Switzerland, and traveled often to her native Colorado Springs.{{cite news |last1=Niles |first1=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=24 January 2023 |publisher=Violinist.com |date=23 January 2023}} While living in Ligerz, she had 3 cats: Päddi, Ashie and Saphira, who would take walks with her in the vineyards above the village.

File:Michaela Modjeska Paetsch on her purebred Arabian stallion, Nakiro, 1988.jpgFile:Phebe, Christian, Priscilla, Johann, Siegmund, Brigitte, Engelbert, & Michaela Paetsch on their horses in Colorado Springs 1979.jpg

Michaela broke her first stallion at age 9.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 Her parents raised Polish-bred registered Purebred Arabian horses at their house in Colorado Springs which bordered the Pike National Forest.Campbell,Robin. The Paetsch Family Ensemble: Musically coming of age. Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colorado Springs Sun, 13 Nov 1977. The pure-bred Arabian colt that they had acquired by playing a concert in Bozeman, Montana was named "Nakiro," a name that would go on to hold great significance for Michaela, who trained and rode the young stallion in the rugged mountains behind their house.

Paetsch died in a palliative clinic in Bern, Switzerland, on January 20, 2023, at the age of 61, from cancer compilations.{{cite news |title=Die US-Amerikanische Gergerin Michaela Paetsch 1st in Bern Gestorben |url=https://www.ch-cultura.ch/de/archiv/musik-und-tanz/die-usamerikanische-geigerin-michaela-paetsch-ist-in-bern-gestorben |publisher=cultura.ch |date=23 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Violinist Michaela Paetsch has died |url=https://www.thestrad.com/news/violinist-michaela-paetsch-has-died/16009.article |publisher=The Strad |date=23 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Tod der Geigerin Michaela Paetsch |url=https://www.musikzeitung.ch/news/2023/01/tod-der-geigerin-michaela-paetsch |publisher=musikzeitung |date=23 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Michaela Paetsch, violinist |url=https://www.michaelapaetsch.com/ |publisher=Web site of Michaela Paetsch |date=23 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Michaela Paetsch (12 Nov 1961, USA - 20 Jan 2023, CH) |url=https://www.facebook.com/michaela.paetsch.9 |publisher=facebook page of Michaela Paetsch |date=23 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Michaela Paetsch |url=https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/1209009-Michaela-Paetsch |publisher=Discogs |date=23 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{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}}{{cite news |last1=Lebrecht |first1=Norman |title=Cancer Claims First Woman to Record Paganini Caprices |url=https://slippedisc.com/2023/01/cancer-claims-first-woman-to-record-paganini-caprices/ |publisher=slippedisc.com |date=22 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}{{cite news |title=Paetsch Neftel, Michaela (1961-2023) |url=https://www.idref.fr/086927973 |publisher=Idref.fr |date=24 Jan 2023 |access-date=23 Feb 2023}}

Paetsch won numerous awards, including first prize in the G.B. Dealey International Competition in Dallas and top prizes in the Queen Elisabeth and the Tchaikovsky International Violin Competitions.

Her extensive discography includes:

• The 24 Caprices by Niccolò Paganini with Teldec.
• She has also recorded with Sony Classical, Arte Nova (BMG) and Tudor.
• Her recent disc of the Concertos by Joachim Raff with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (TUDOR 7086).
• The complete music for solo strings of Daron Hagen for Arsis.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050207151320/http://www.ensemble-incanto.de/ ensemble incanto - string quartet]

{{reflist|25em}}

• Michaela Paetsch's home page is [http://www.michaelapaetsch.com http://www.michaelapaetsch.com].
• A German web site is here: [http://www.michaelapaetsch.ch http://www.michaelapaetsch.ch]
• {{discogs artist|Michaela Paetsch}}
• [https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/laureates/michaela-paetsch/2212 Bio from the Queen Elisabeth International Competition]

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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