Wikipedia

Helmuth Rilling

Helmuth Rilling
Rilling in 2013
Born(1933-05-29)29 May 1933
Stuttgart, Germany
Died11 February 2026(2026-02-11) (aged 92)
Leonberg, Germany
Occupations
  • Choral conductor
  • Academic teacher
Organizations
Awards

Helmuth Rilling (29 May 1933 – 11 February 2026) was a German choral conductor and an academic teacher who was internationally known as an authority on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei in 1954 when still a student, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in 1965, the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981 and other Bach Academies worldwide, as well as the Festival Ensemble Stuttgart (FES) in 2001 and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble in 2011. He taught choral conducting at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule from 1965 to 1989 and led the Frankfurter Kantorei from 1969 to 1982. He held talk concerts, introducing the music with the performers, internationally and notably in Eastern Europe.

In 1985, Rilling was the first to have recorded Bach's complete church cantatas, and recordings of Bach's complete works were issued by 2000. He performed the world premiere of the Messa per Rossini (which Verdi had initiated upon the death of Rossini) in 1988. He recorded 20th-century works such as Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher and Penderecki's Credo, the latter commissioned and performed by the Oregon Bach Festival and winning the 2001 Grammy Award for best choral performance. He continued to lead the Gächinger Kantorei and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart until 2013.

Life and career

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Rilling was born on 29 May 1933 in Stuttgart[1][2] into a musical family;[1] his father was organist and music teacher, and his mother a violinist.[3] Rilling attended school at Protestant seminaries in Württemberg where he received musical and theological training. After his Abitur at Stift Urach [de] in 1952, he studied at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart, organ with Karl Gerock, composition with Johann Nepomuk David and chorale conducting with Hans Grischkat. After his state exam in 1955, he studied further, with Fernando Germani in Rome and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena.[1]

While still a student in 1954, he founded his first choir, the Gächinger Kantorei.[4][5] From 1957, he was organist and choirmaster at the Stuttgart Gedächtniskirche where he conducted the choir Figuralchor der Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart[1] and was instrumental in the building of a new Walcker organ.[6] From 1963 to 1966, he taught organ and choral at the Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule, conducting the Spandauer Kantorei.[7] He founded and conducted the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart from 1965, which often performed with the Gächinger Kantorei.[4] In New York City in 1967, he took a course in conducting with Leonard Bernstein,[1] who became a model for introducing the music to be performed.[3]

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.[2] His students include Hans-Christoph Rademann,[8] Matthias Manasi [de][9] and Eberhard Friedrich [de].[10] In 1969, Rilling also took over as conductor of the Frankfurter Kantorei.[11]

Rilling in rehearsal in Israel

Rilling became well known for his performances of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, touring widely with the Gächinger Kantorei and the Bach Collegium Stuttgart[12] and often introducing the music in talk concerts.[13] The talks included music examples by all performers, making the music accessible for all kinds of listeners because specialist terminology was "translated" immediately into sounds.[3] Rilling co-founded the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970,[14] and served as its artistic director until 2013.[15] Also in 1970, he was the first German conductor to lead the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.[13] He also held talk concerts in Eastern Europe, and conducted Bach's Mass in B minor in an open-air-concert at the Dresden Zwinger before German Reunification.[4] He was an ambassador bringing Bach's music towards better understanding outside West Germany. The Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki became a friend.[3]

Rilling co-founded and led the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981,[13] offering seminars, lectures, open rehearsals, master classes, workshops and concerts.[3] In 1988, he conducted the world premiere of the Messa per Rossini;[4] he also conducted the work at the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2001, where he traditionally led the final concert.[16] In 2001, Rilling created the Festival Ensemble as part of the European Music Festival Stuttgart.[16] He became the festival conductor and lecturer at the Toronto Bach Festival in 2004. He continued to lead the Gächinger Kantorei and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart until 2013,[17] and retired from conducting concerts in 2018.[13]

Rilling died in Leonberg on 11 February 2026, at the age of 92.[13] Gerald Felber, writing for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, characterised Rilling first as a mediator, adding "persistent, determined and with stamina".[4]

Recordings and awards

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Rilling was the first conductor to record Bach's complete church cantatas, from 1970 to 1985. During this time, historically informed performances began and flourished; he was interested in more dynamic interpretation, but retained traditional instruments.[3][4] He recorded the complete works of Bach by 2000 in the Edition Bachakademie [de], a monumental task involving over 1,000 pieces of music – spanning 172 compact discs.[2][13] He also recorded many classical and romantic choral and orchestral works, including the works of Johannes Brahms.[13] While most of his recording output was of works of Bach and other Baroque composers, he did champion and record works of contemporary composers. Rilling's recording of Penderecki's Credo, commissioned and performed by the Oregon Bach Festival, won the 2001 Grammy Award for best choral performance.[18] He received the Bach Medal in 2004.[19] Another example of his recording 20th century works was Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (Hänssler Classic, 2013).[17]

In 2008, Rilling was awarded the Sanford Award by the Yale School of Music at Yale University. He was the 2011 recipient of the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize.[20]

For Rilling's 75th birthday, the record label Hänssler Classic released his entire Bach edition on iTunes.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Helmuth Rilling". Munzinger Archive (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Keller, Matthias (12 February 2026). "Zum Tod von Helmuth Rilling: Der Bach-Papst". BR-KLASSIK (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Molnar, Laszlo (30 May 2023). ""Mr. Bach" Helmuth Rilling wird 90: Thrilling Rilling". BR (in German). Archived from the original on 15 May 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Felber, Gerald (12 February 2026). "Im Gespräch mit Bach". FAZ (in German). Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Idylle mitten auf der Schwäbischen Alb". Gemeinde St. Johann (in German). 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Stuttgart, Gedächtniskirche – Organ index, die freie Orgeldatenbank". Organ Index (in German). Archived from the original on 17 April 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  7. ^ Bürger, Frank (7 June 2021). "Erfolgreicher Orgelwettbewerb in der Lutherkirche Spandau". Deutsch-Polnische Nachrichten (in German). Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ^ Hippel, Klemens (9 November 2011). "Rezension zu Johann Christian Bachs Requiem". Concerti (in German). Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Матиас Манаси е един от най-известните и иновативни диригенти на международната музикална сцена". Moderna TV. 13 March 2023. Archived from the original on 1 April 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Eberhard Friedrich". Bayreuth Festival. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Frankfurter Kantorei". Frankfurter Kantorei (in German). Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  12. ^ Schleider, Tim (12 February 2026). "Stuttgarter Dirigenten-Legende Helmuth Rilling ist tot". Eßlinger Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  13. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  14. ^ Lindemann Malone, Andrew. "Helmuth Rilling". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  15. ^ Stabler, David (24 August 2011). "Oregon Bach Festival names Matthew Halls to replace Helmuth Rilling in 2013". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart" (PDF). Festival Ensemble Stuttgart (in German). 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
  17. ^ a b Allen, David (15 February 2026). "Helmuth Rilling, Who Recorded Huge Swaths of Bach, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Vol. 175, no. 60796. p. 23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  18. ^ "Helmuth Rilling". Grammy Awards. 29 January 2026. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ Wurzel, Christoph (25 November 2009). "Baden-Baden: Herbert von Karajan Musikpreis 2011 an Helmuth Rilling". Online Musik Magazin (in German). Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  21. ^ "Der "Bachpod": Bachs Gesamtwerk auf dem iPod". PRO (in German). 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helmuth Rilling.