Karl Münchinger
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Karl Münchinger (29 May 1915 – 13 March 1990) was a German conductor of European
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. He helped to revive the now-ubiquitous
Canon in D Pachelbel's Canon (also known as the Canon in D, P 37) is an accompanied canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. The canon was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue, known as ''Canon and G ...
by
Johann Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...
, through recording it with his Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 1960. (
Jean-François Paillard Jean-François Paillard (12 April 1928 – 15 April 2013) was a French conductor. He was born in Vitry-le-François and received his musical training at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize in music history, and the Salzburg Moza ...
made a rival, and also very popular, recording of the same piece at around the same time.) Münchinger is also noted for restoring baroque traditions to the interpretation of
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
's ''oeuvre'', his greatest musical love — moderate-sized forces, judicious ornamentation, and rhythmic sprightliness, though not on "period instruments". Born in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Münchinger studied at the Hochschule für Musik in his home city. At first, he guest-conducted often, supporting himself also with other duties as an
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
and church choir director. In 1941, he became principal conductor of the Hanover Symphony, a post he held for the next two years. He held no other conducting position until the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The year that the war ended, he founded the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra), which he built into an impressive touring ensemble; it made its Paris debut in 1949 and its American debut in San Francisco in 1953. Under his leadership the orchestra issued (for the
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
label) numerous recordings, mostly during the 1950s and 1960s, and mostly of Bach's output; these included the ''
Brandenburg Concertos The ''Brandenburg Concertos'' by Johann Sebastian Bach (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV 1046–1051), are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg ...
'' (three times), the orchestral suites, the '' St. Matthew Passion'', the '' St. John Passion'', ''
The Musical Offering ''The Musical Offering'' (German: or ), BWV 1079, is a collection of keyboard canons and fugues and other pieces of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, all based on a single musical theme given to him by Frederick the Great (King Frederick II of Pru ...
'', and the ''
Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of t ...
''. Of his and the ensemble's non-Bach releases, probably the best — and certainly the most famous, other than the Pachelbel performance mentioned earlier — is that of
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
's ''The Creation''. In 1977, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra became the first German ensemble to visit the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Münchinger retired in 1988, two years before his death. Stylistically, Münchinger's approach with his orchestra was rather similar to those of his somewhat younger contemporaries
Raymond Leppard Raymond John Leppard (11 August 1927 – 22 October 2019) was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the ...
, Sir
Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of th ...
,
Claudio Scimone Claudio Scimone (23 December 1934 – 6 September 2018) was an Italian conductor. He was born in Padua, Italy and studied conducting with Dmitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara. He established an international reputation as a conductor, as well a ...
, and the above-mentioned Paillard, though displaying an extra element of tonal solidity — not to mention a fierce rigor during rehearsals as well as performances — which might be considered Teutonic. With the increased fashionability of 18th-century instruments, from the 1970s onward, Münchinger's interpretations fell dramatically from critical favor and were often dismissed as "passé", though he always showed himself to be a fine, tough, disciplined, and sensitive musician. There have been more profoundly imaginative German conductors than Münchinger, but there have been very few who matched his consistently high standards.


Further reading

Holmes, John L. (1982). ''Conductors on Record''. London: Gollancz. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Munchinger, Karl 1915 births 1990 deaths German male conductors (music) Bach conductors Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians 20th-century German composers