Schriever was born in
Leipzig, the daughter of Fritz Schriever who was a teacher at the
Thomasschule when
Gustav Schreck and
Karl Straube were
Thomaskantor. She was exposed to the weekly
Motette of the
Thomanerchor early. From age 16, she was a in the and performed with conductors such as
Hermann Abendroth and
Günther Ramin. She studied voice at the
Musikhochschule Leipzig from 1948 to 1953. She appeared already during her studies as a soloist with
Diethard Hellmann, in 1951 in Bach's
Christmas Oratorio and in 1952 in his
St John Passion. She gave a first
Lieder recital in Leipzig when she received the Carl Maria von Weber Prize for Lied interpretation in 1952. In 1953, she was awarded the prize for best German singer at the
Geneva International Music Competition. From 1954 onwards, she was soloist of the Thomanerchor for more than two decades, with Ramin,
Kurt Thomas,
Erhard Mauersberger and
Hans-Joachim Rotzsch. With Mauersberger and the
Gewandhausorchester, she performed several
Bach cantatas at the
Thomaskirche which were broadcast by
East German Radio. In 1967, she appeared in a broadcast of the
Christmas Oratorio, alongside
Adele Stolte, Rotzsch and
Hermann Christian Polster. With these soloists, she was a member of the Leipzig Bach Soloists from 1968 to 1972. Schriever also performed with the
Dresdner Kreuzchor, conducted by
Rudolf Mauersberger and then
Martin Flämig, She sang
cantatas and oratorios in Germany and abroad and took part in Bach and Handel festivals as well as radio and record recordings. She was also internationally renowned as a lied singer. Schriever taught singing at the
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. In 1992, she was appointed honorary professor. Among her students was
Gotthold Schwarz. Schriever was married to the pianist Hans-Joachim Drechsel. The couple had three children. She died in Leipzig at the age of 85. The Thomanerchor performed at her funeral. == References ==