Helmuth Rilling

Helmuth Rilling (* May 29, 1933 in Stuttgart ) is a German church musician, conductor and music educator.

Life and work

Rilling studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart among others, Karl Ludwig Gerok, Hermann Keller and Hans Grischkat, then from 1955 organ with Fernando Germani in Rome. On 1 December 1957 he was cantor at the rebuilt Memorial Church in Stuttgart-Nord and shortly afterwards assumed in addition a teaching position at the Church College of Music in Berlin. Since 1963, the church music director in Stuttgart, 1969, he was professor of choral conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main. He held until 1985 This professorship.

Originally Artist vorbach shear Music and romantic and contemporary choral music, since the 1970s, is the spiritual and secular works by Johann Sebastian Bach Rilling's work focus. He played 1970-1985 as Principal Conductor of all sacred cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach on disc one. He has since been in Stuttgart as " Mister Bach". Friedrich Haenssler, who had the courage to publish this production in its publisher, was awarded the 1985 Grand Prix du Disque.

Rilling founded in January 1954, the Gächinger Kantorei and Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in 1965, and also 1970, the Oregon Bach Festival and 1981 the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart, whose artistic director he was, until his resignation in February 2012. He was from 1985 to 1996 Artistic Director of the State Youth Choir Baden- Württemberg. From 1969 to 1982 he also led the Frankfurter Kantorei.

One of his specialties are the lecture concerts, where he combines music analysis and concert. With thoughts on Bach, in the early 1980s, a similar bearing sound recordings published. He leads since the 1970s by the so-called Bach academies, which are concert festival with lectures and master classes for singing and conducting. Such Bach academies are regularly held in Stuttgart and Oregon ( USA), since the 80's in Japan. Between 1986 and 2000 found countless Bach academies held in Eastern European countries, which helped him in 2003 to an honorary doctorate from the Music Academy in Krakow and also made ​​a contribution to international understanding.

In 1996, Helmuth Rilling a completion of Schubert's oratorio Lazarus by the Russian composer Edison Denisov on CD.

In 1985 he successfully completed the first recording of the complete Bach cantatas in 2000 was followed by the first recording of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach under Rilling's overall artistic line to 172 CDs in the internationally acclaimed Edition Bach Academy.

Among his first performances include 1988, the Messa per Rossini, the Requiem of Reconciliation in 1995 by 14 contemporary composers, as a gesture of reconciliation 50 years after the war under the auspices of the then German President Roman Herzog, the Credo by Krzysztof Penderecki in 1998 and Uncle from Boston or two nephews, a youth opera by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy 2004.

Honors and Awards

Helmuth Rilling has received many awards, including

  • Hot Silver Medal of the Württemberg Church
  • 1978 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • 1984 Medal of Merit of the State of Baden -Württemberg
  • 1985 honorary doctorate from the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
  • 1993 Cross of Merit 1st class of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • 1994 IMC Music Prize of UNESCO
  • 1995 Theodor Heuss Prize
  • 2000 Rheingau Music Prize
  • 2001 Grammy Award for his recording of Krzysztof Penderecki's Credo in the category "Best Choral Performance"
  • 2003 Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • 2004 Otto -Hirsch medal
  • 2008 Georg -Friedrich -Händel - ring of the Association of German concert choirs
  • 2008 Prize of the European church music
  • 2011 Herbert von Karajan Music Prize
  • 2012 Martin Luther Medal
  • 2013 ECHO Klassik appreciation of the life's work
  • 2014 Great Cross of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany

Student

Among the students of Helmuth Rilling:

  • Mathias Breitschaft, church musicians and teachers
  • Heribert Breuer, conductor
  • Angela Gehann - Dernbach, conductor, organist and singer
  • Volkher Häusler, conductor and choirmaster
  • Johanna Irmscher, church musician and professor
  • Matthias Janz, church musician and conductor
  • Walter Mik, Music Director
  • Charles Rathgeber, Conductor, Professor
  • Christoph Schönherr, composer, conductor and professor
  • Alexander Sweet, conductor
  • Winfried Toll, Conductor, singer and composer
Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart Angela Gehann-Dernbach Bundesanzeiger Integrated Authority File
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