Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the

Gächinger Kantorei Gächinger Kantorei (Gächingen Chorale), which uses the old German spelling of its name, the Gaechinger Cantorey, is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen (part of St. Johann close to Reutl ...

(1954), the

Bach-Collegium Stuttgart Bach-Collegium Stuttgart is an internationally known German instrumental ensemble, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1965 to accompany the Gächinger Kantorei in choral music with orchestra. Its members are mostly orchestra musicians from Germany and ...

(1965), the

Oregon Bach Festival Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. About the festival The festival's programming is three-fold. It ...

(1970), the

Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart is a foundation in Stuttgart, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1981 to foster international concerts and workshops, namely Musikfest Stuttgart, dedicated especially to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in relati ...

(1981) and other Bach Academies worldwide, as well as the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart" (2001) and the "Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble" (2011). He taught choral conducting at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule from 1965 to 1989 and led the Frankfurter Kantorei from 1969 to 1982.

Education

Rilling was born into a musical family. He received his early training at the Protestant Seminaries in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. From 1952 to 1955 he studied organ, composition, and choral conducting at the Stuttgart College of Music. He completed his studies with Fernando Germani in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and at the

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. While still a student in 1954, he founded his first choir, the

. Starting in 1957, he was organist and choirmaster at the Stuttgart Gedächtniskirche, conducting the choir Figuralchor der Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart. From 1963 to 1966, he taught organ and choral at the

Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule The (Spandau school of church music) was a music academy in Spandau, Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1929, it was housed in the in Spandau and was closed in 1998. The schools choir appeared and recorded as the Spandauer Kantorei. It was located in ...

, conducting the ''Spandauer Kantorei'' (Spandau chorale).

Career

In 1967, he studied with

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

in New York and in the same year was appointed professor of choral conducting at the

Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (, HfMDK) is a state Hochschule for music, theatre and dance in Frankfurt and is the only one of its kind in the Federal State of Hesse. It was founded in 1938. At present around 900 studen ...

, a post that he held until 1985. In 1969, Rilling took over as conductor of the Frankfurter Kantorei (Frankfurt Choir). Since 1965, he has conducted the

, which often performs with the

. He has toured widely with both ensembles. He is well known for his performances of the music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

and his contemporaries. Rilling is the first person to have twice prepared and recorded (on modern instruments) the complete choral works of J. S. Bach, a monumental task involving well over 1,000 pieces of music - spanning 170 compact discs. He has also recorded many romantic and classical choral and orchestral works, including the works of

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

. In 1988, Rilling conducted the world premiere of the '' Messa per Rossini'' that he also conducted at the

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

in 2001, where he has traditionally conducted the final concert.Festival Ensemble Stuttgart
, 2006 (in German) Rilling co-founded the

in 1970, and served as its artistic director until 2013. He also co-founded and led the

since 1981. In 2001, Rilling created the Festival Ensemble to be part of the European Music Festival Stuttgart ("Musikfest Stuttgart"). Rilling became the Festival Conductor and lecturer at the Toronto Bach Festival in 2004. Rilling was a teacher of chorale conducting at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule from 1965 to 1989.

Recordings and awards

Rilling's recording of Krzysztof Penderecki's

Credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the portion of the Mass where a creed is recited or sung. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed or the Apostles' Creed are the primary creeds used for this purpose. History After the ...

, commissioned and performed by the

, won the 2001

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for best choral performance. He received the Bach Medal in 2004. In 2008, Rilling was awarded the Sanford Award by the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He was the 2011 recipient of the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize. For Rilling's 75th birthday, his record label Hänssler Classic released his entire Bach edition on iTunes.

References

External links

Helmuth Rilling / Gründer der Internationalen Bachakademie
on the website of the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart

on bach-cantatas.com

of Helmuth Rilling

by Bruce Duffie, 2 March 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rilling, Helmuth 1933 births Living people 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians Bach conductors German choral conductors German male conductors (music) Grammy Award winners Herbert von Karajan Music Prize winners Kirchenmusikdirektor Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Musicians from Oregon Musicians from Stuttgart Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Accademia Musicale Chigiana alumni