Klaus Bernbacher
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Klaus Bernbacher (25 January 1931 – 3 December 2023) was a German conductor, music event manager, broadcasting manager and academic teacher. He co-founded the ''Tage der Neuen Musik Hannover'', a festival for
contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...
, in 1958. He was manager for the broadcaster
Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (), shortened to RB () is Germany's smallest Public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster and the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerha ...
from 1962. In Bremen, he was also a cultural politician, a member of the Bremische Bürgerschaft, and an honorary professor at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen.


Life


Family, education and musical career

Born in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
, Bernbacher was the son of a violinist who worked as a chamber musician and in the orchestra of the Staatsoper Hannover. He came into early contact with music through piano lessons and concert visits, listening to music conducted by
Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...
, Herbert von Karajan,
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in rehearsals and performances. He studied music at the Musikhochschule Hannover to become a conductor. During his studies, he was involved in establishing the Jeunesses Musicales Internationalles festival from 1951, and the music centre at Schloss Weikersheim. In 1958, he and founded a studio for
contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...
(''Neue Musik''). It was developed to the ''Tage der Neuen Musik Hannover'', a festival held from 1958 to 1998 in collaboration with broadcasters NDR and
Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (), shortened to RB () is Germany's smallest Public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster and the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerha ...
, the Musikhochschule and the Staatsoper. The festival featured music by
Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...
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, Josef Anton Riedl, Werner Heider, Hans-Joachim Hespos, Hans Ulrich Engelmann,
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, Peter Ruzicka and Detlef Heusinger, among others. In 1962, he became conductor at Radio Bremen and department head at the broadcaster around 1969, especially promoting ''Neue Musik''. He was responsible for around 600 radio productions and concerts over around 40 years, including with the orchestras
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (North West German Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Herford. Founded in 1950, the orchestra is one of the ''Landesorchester'' of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, along with the ''Philhar ...
and the Bremer Philharmoniker. Performances included Schönberg's ''
Gurre-Lieder ' (''Songs of Gurre Castle, Gurre'') is a tripartite oratorio followed by a Melodrama, melodramatic epilogue for five vocal soloists, narrator, three choruses, and grand orchestra. The work, which is based on an early song cycle for soprano, te ...
'' in the original version and Mahler's Second Symphony at the Bremen Cathedral. He has been an honorary professor at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen. Bernbacher was married to , who became a politician of the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
, from 1957 until her death in 2013. He met her in 1947 during school days. The couple had four children, two of them adopted. Bernbacher died on 3 December 2023, at the age of 92.Landesmusikrat Bremen trauert um Klaus Bernbacher


Politics

Bernbacher was a member of the SPD from the 1950s until 1994, influenced by Kurt Schumacher. In 1995 he joined a (voters group) Arbeit für Bremen und Bremerhaven (AfB) as a candidate, a group of both dissatisfied SPD members and committed citizens who had not belonged to any party, led by the former savings bank director . The AfB immediately achieved 10.7% of the votes and 12 seats in parliament for the , including Bernbacher. He helped to ensure that culture was included in the constitution as a state objective. The AfB had no seat from 1999.


Other memberships

* Bremen * Collaboration, together with Peter Schulze, at the citizens' initiative for the preservation of the famous for its acoustics. * Landesmusikrat Bremen * Chairman of the support association "Musicon Bremen", which supports the construction of a concert hall on the Bürgerweide according to plans by
Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...
.


Work

* Klaus Bernbacher, Detlef Müller-Hennig (ed.): ''Dokumentation 20 Jahre Konzert des Deutschen Musikrates''. Bonn 2000.


Awards

In 2011, Bernbacher was awarded the Bremische Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft (Bremen Medal for Art and Science) for his decades of influential work for the music scene in Germany.


References


Further reading

* Norbert Korfmacher: ''Mitgliederverzeichnis der Bremischen Bürgerschaft 1946 bis 1996'' (''Kommunalpolitik.'' Vol. 1). LIT, Münster 1997, . * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernbacher, Klaus 1931 births 2023 deaths Musicians from Hanover Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover alumni Academic staff of the University of the Arts Bremen German conductors (music) Radio Bremen people Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians