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Gustav Classens (12 October 189418 June 1977) was a German conductor who shaped musical life in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
. He was municipal music director and conductor of the
Beethoven Orchester Bonn The Beethoven Orchester Bonn is a German symphony orchestra based in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It dates back to 1907, when a professional orchestra was established. Named for Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn, the orchestra's princ ...
from 1933 to 1949, continuing concerts during World War II and reviving them after the war. He was then for decades conductor of the choir Chor der Bonner Bach-Gemeinschaft that he founded.


Career

Gustav Xavier Maria August Classens was born in Aachen, the son of the photographer August Classens (1849–after 1902) and his wife Maria Classens, née Jessen. He studied music at the
Cologne Conservatory Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
from 1913, piano with Otto Klauwell (1851–1917), music theory with Franz Bölsche (1867–1933) and Konrad Ramrath (1880–1972), and score playing with Ewald Strässer (1869–1935). His studies were interrupted by World War I. He served as ''Gefreiter'' and was severely injured in 1915. When he returned to his studies in 1919, he took conducting classes with
Hermann Abendroth Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth (19 January 1883 – 29 May 1956) was a German conductor. Early life Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, the son of a bookseller. Several other members of the family were artists in diverse disc ...
. He graduated in 1923 in piano and conducting. Classens gave concerts as a pianist and assisted Abendroth with his concerts at the in Cologne. In 1923, he conducted the first concert of the Kölner Kammerorchester (Cologne Chamber Orchestra) which Abendroth had founded. His first leading position was music director of the Kurverwaltung-Konzertgesellschaft in
Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg ( ksh, Bad Jodesbersch) is a borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of West Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings are ...
from 1924, including conducting the Kurorchesters. In 1925, he also became municipal music director (''Städtischer Musikdirektor'') in
Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum * Dort ...
. He had a first contact to
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
in 1927, when he prepared choirs for the Beethovenfest for the centenary of the composer's death. During the following years, he often stepped in for
Generalmusikdirektor A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...
(GMD) Max Anton (1877–1939) who had to retire early due to ill health. After three more years, in 1933, Classens was appointed GMD in Bonn. From 1936, he was also responsible for the Bonn Opera, after Heinrich Sauer (1870–1955) had retired in 1931. Classen's intention was to make Bonn a Beethoven city, as Salzburg was a Mozart city. He had to compromise with the Nazi regime, such as conducting in 1934 the premiere of ''Deutsches Heldenrequiem'', dedicated to Hitler by its composer Gottfried Müller (1914–1993). However, he held a high level of quality, performing in his first season in 1933/34 the oratorio ''Elisabeth'' by Joseph Haas, followed by Bach's ''
St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as dire ...
'', Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and
Choral Fantasy The ''Fantasy'' for piano, vocal soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra, Op. 80, usually called the ''Choral Fantasy'', was composed in 1808 by then 38-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven intended the ''Fantasy'' to serve as the conc ...
,
Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera '' Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...
's Violin Concerto and ''
Ein Heldenleben ''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life''), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be au ...
'' by Richard Strauss. The following season, he conducted Bach's ''
St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...
'', Handel's ''
Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution ...
'', Haydn's '' Die Jahreszeiten'', Beethoven's
Missa solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In Frenc ...
and Ninth Symphony, Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, and an evening dedicated to
Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Leipzig University Church, as a professor a ...
with two Bonn premieres. He managed to continue concerts under difficult conditions during World War II and revived the orchestra after the war. He held the position of GMD until 1949. In 1949, Classens founded a choir which he named Chor der Bonner Bach-Gemeinschaft (Choir of the Bonn Bach Society). which became the
Bach-Chor Bonn The Bach-Chor Bonn (Bonn Bach choir) is a large concert choir and oratorio choir in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded by Gustav Classens in 1949 as Bonner Bach-Gemeinschaft (Bonn Bach society), and has its present name offici ...
in 2012. He was director until 1971. In the almost forty years that he led the Bach-Chor, numerous concerts for choir and orchestra took place in Bonn, making it an integral part of Bonn's musical life. They toured in the wider Bonn area as well as to Belgium and Luxembourg. Founded to cultivate
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 wo ...
's works, the choir's repertoire was soon expanded. In 1951, Haydn's ''
Die Schöpfung ''The Creation'' (german: Die Schöpfung) is an oratorio written between 1797 and 1798 by Joseph Haydn (Hob. XXI:2), and considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. The oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described ...
'' was performed. In 1952, Classens conducted the Bonn premiere of Bach's ''
Easter Oratorio The ''Easter Oratorio'' (), 249, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, beginning with ("Come, hasten and run"). Bach composed it in Leipzig and first performed it on 1 April 1725. History The first version of the work was completed as a ca ...
'', and three years later the first performance there of the
Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical service ...
by Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel. The performance of the Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' unabridged in March 1959 became a special event for Bach lovers. Classens conducted Handel's
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
s '' Judas Maccabäus'' and ''
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
'', Haydn's '' Die Jahreszeiten'', and ''
Ein deutsches Requiem ''A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures'', Op. 45 (german: Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, links=no) by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, a soprano and a baritone soloist, com ...
'' by Brahms. He also performed Dvořák's
Stabat mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...
and
Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
, Hermann Suter's ''
Le Laudi ''Le Laudi'' (''The Praises''), Op. 25, is an oratorio by the Swiss composer Hermann Suter. The full title is ''Le Laudi di San Francesco d'Assisi (Cantico delle creature)'' (''The Praises of St. Francis of Assisi (Canticle of the Creatures))'' ...
'' which was almost forgotten, and Kodály's ''
Psalmus Hungaricus The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
''. From 1952 to 1966, he was also music teacher at the . Classens died in Bonn at the age of 82.


References


Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Classens, Gustav German conductors (music) Music directors Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1894 births 1977 deaths People from Aachen