Helmuth Emil Froschauer (22 September 1933 – 18 August 2019) was an Austrian conductor, especially a choral conductor who received his first training as a member of the

Wiener Sängerknaben The Vienna Boys' Choir () is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a private ...

. He conducted the choir from 1953 to 1965, including 22 international tours. He went on to conduct the choirs of the Wiener Singverein, the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

and the

WDR Rundfunkchor Köln The WDR Rundfunkchor Köln (West German Radio Choir Cologne) is the choir of the German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), based in Cologne. It was founded in 1947. The choir premiered works by contemporary composers including Arnold Schoenb ...

. As a close collaborator of

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

from 1989, he prepared choirs for the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

among others.

Life and career

Born in Vienna, Froschauer received his musical education with the

boys' choir. He studied piano, horn, composition and conducting at the Wiener Musikakademie. From 1953 to 1965 he conducted one of the choirs of the Wiener Sängerknaben. As

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

he led this ensemble on 22 international tours. He conducted the choir in recordings and the film ''Almost Angels''. At the beginning of the 1960s, as

musical director A music director, musical director or director of music is a 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 ...

of the

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

in Vienna, he also directed several music films with the

Vienna Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Theater an der Wien. History ...

. From 1968 to 1991 Froschauer was, at times simultaneously, solo répétiteur and choir director at the

as well as choir director of the Wiener Singverein and the

Bregenzer Festspiele Bregenzer Festspiele (; Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. History The Festival becam ...

. As a close collaborator of

from 1989, he was involved in the preparation of numerous concerts, recordings, and television recordings at

, Berliner Festwochen, and

Wiener Festwochen The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) is a culture festival that takes place in Vienna for five or six weeks in May and June every year. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the Participants in World W ...

. Froschauer worked for the

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of Germa ...

from 1992, first as choir director of the

, then from 1997/99 to 2003 also as chief conductor of the

WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln The is a German broadcast orchestra of the ' (WDR, West German Broadcasting) in Cologne. The orchestra gives its concerts in such venues as the Kölner Philharmonie and in the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz. History Groups from which the orchestra was ...

, of which he later became honorary conductor. For many years, Froschauer and two other colleagues have also conducted the Sunday masses in the Vienna , in which the Wiener Sängerknaben also took part. Froschauer died in Vienna at age 85. His son is the violinist Daniel Froschauer, chairman of the

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Froschauer, Helmuth 1933 births 2019 deaths Musicians from Vienna 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) Austrian male conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian male musicians 21st-century Austrian conductors (music) 21st-century Austrian male musicians Chief conductors of the WDR Funkhausorchester

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links