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Helmuth Rilling

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Helmuth Rilling
Rilling in 2013
Born(1933-05-29)29 May 1933
Stuttgart, Germany
Died11 February 2026(2026-02-11) (aged 92)
Leonberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Occupations
  • Choral conductor
  • Academic teacher
Organizations
AwardsHerbert von Karajan Music Prize

Helmuth Rilling (29 May 1933 – 11 February 2026) was a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He was the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970), the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart (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.

Life and career

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Rilling was born on 29 May 1933 in Stuttgart[1][2] into a musical family.[3] He received his early training at the Protestant Seminaries in Württemberg. 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 and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena.

While still a student in 1954, he founded his first choir, the Gächinger Kantorei.[4] Starting in 1957, he was organist and choirmaster at the Stuttgart Gedächtniskirche, conducting the choir Figuralchor der Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart.[5] From 1963 to 1966, he taught organ and choral at the Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule, conducting the Spandauer Kantorei.[6] He conducted the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart from 1965, which often performed with the Gächinger Kantorei. He toured widely with both ensembles.[7] In 1967, he studied with Leonard Bernstein in New York.[8]

In 1969 Rilling was appointed professor of choral conducting at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, a post that he held until 1985. His students include Hans-Christoph Rademann,[9] Matthias Manasi[10] and Eberhard Friedrich.[11] In 1969, Rilling took over as conductor of the Frankfurter Kantorei.

Rilling became well known for his performances of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. He often introduced the music in talk concerts.[12] Rilling was the first person to have prepared and recorded (on modern instruments) the complete choral works of Bach, a monumental task involving well over 1,000 pieces of music – spanning 170 compact discs, completed in 2000.[12] He also recorded many romantic and classical choral and orchestral works, including the works by Johannes Brahms.[12] In 1988, Rilling conducted the world premiere of the Messa per Rossini; he also conducted the work at the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2001, where he traditionally led the final concert.[13]

Rilling co-founded the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970,[14] and served as its artistic director until 2013.[15] The same year, he was the first German conductor to conduct the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.[12]

Rilling co-founded and led the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981.[12] In 2001, Rilling created the Festival Ensemble to be part of the European Music Festival Stuttgart.[13] Rilling became the Festival Conductor and lecturer at the Toronto Bach Festival in 2004. He retired from leading concerts in 2018.[12]

Rilling died in Leonberg on 11 February 2026, at the age of 92.[12][7][3]

Recordings and awards

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Rilling's recording of Krzysztof Penderecki's Credo, commissioned and performed by the Oregon Bach Festival, won the 2001 Grammy Award for best choral performance.[16] He received the Bach Medal in 2004.[17] He was the 2011 recipient of the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize.[18]

For Rilling's 75th birthday, his record label Hänssler Classic released his entire Bach edition on iTunes.[19]

Bibliography

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  • Rilling, Sara Maria (12 June 2013). Mein Vater Helmuth Rilling (in German). Holzgerlingen: Hänssler. ISBN 978-3-7751-7161-8.
  • Hansen, Sharon (1997). Helmuth Rilling. Dayton, Ohio: Roger Dean Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-89328-150-2.
  • Rilling, Helmuth; Krellmann, Hanspeter (2013). Helmuth Rilling Ein Leben mit Bach (in German). Kassel: Bärenreiter. ISBN 978-3-89487-926-6.

References

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  1. ^ "Helmuth Rilling". Munzinger Biographie (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  2. ^ Keller, Matthias (12 February 2026). "Zum Tod von Helmuth Rilling: Der Bach-Papst". BR-KLASSIK (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Dirigent Helmuth Rilling gestorben". nmz – neue musikzeitung (in German). 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Idylle mitten auf der Schwäbischen Alb". Gemeinde St. Johann (in German). 6 December 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Stuttgart, Gedächtniskirche – Organ index, die freie Orgeldatenbank". Organ index (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  6. ^ Bürger, Frank (7 June 2021). "Erfolgreicher Orgelwettbewerb in der Lutherkirche Spandau". Deutsch-Polnische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  7. ^ a b Schleider, Tim (12 February 2026). "Stuttgarter Dirigenten-Legende Helmuth Rilling ist tot". Eßlinger Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ^ Molnar, Laszlo (30 May 2023). ""Mr. Bach" Helmuth Rilling wird 90: Thrilling Rilling". BR-KLASSIK (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  9. ^ Klemens Hippel (9 November 2011). "Rezension zu Johann Christian Bachs Requiem". concertti.de. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  10. ^ Moderna TV (13 March 2023). "Матиас Манаси е един от най-известните и иновативни диригенти на международната музикална сцена". modernavratza.com. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  11. ^ Bayreuth Festival (1 April 2016). "Eberhard Friedrich auf der Webseite der Bayreuther Festspiele". Bayreuth Festival. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "Helmuth Rilling ist tot: Gründer der Bachakademie Stuttgart starb mit 92 Jahren". SWR (in German). 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  13. ^ a b Festival Ensemble Stuttgart Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, 2006 (in German)
  14. ^ Lindemann Malone, Andrew. "Helmuth Rilling". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  15. ^ David Stabler (24 August 2011). "Oregon Bach Festival names Matthew Halls to replace Helmuth Rilling in 2013". The Oregonian. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Helmuth Rilling". GRAMMY.com. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Rilling ausgezeichnet". Schwäbische Post (Press release) (in German). Aalen. dpa. 30 April 2004. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  18. ^ Wurzel, Christoph (25 November 2009). "Baden-Baden: Herbert von Karajan Musikpreis 2011 an Helmuth Rilling". Online Musik Magazin (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  19. ^ "Der "Bachpod": Bachs Gesamtwerk auf dem iPod". PRO (in German). 13 August 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
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