Helmuth Rilling | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rilling in 2013 | |
| Born | (1933-05-29)29 May 1933 Stuttgart, Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Germany |
| Died | 11 February 2026(2026-02-11) (aged 92) Leonberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Occupations |
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| Organizations | |
| Awards | Herbert 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 theGächinger Kantorei (1954), theBach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), theOregon Bach Festival (1970), theInternationale 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 theFrankfurt Musikhochschule from 1965 to 1989 and led theFrankfurter Kantorei from 1969 to 1982.
Rilling was born on 29 May 1933 inStuttgart[1][2] into a musical family.[3] He received his early training at the Protestant Seminaries inWürttemberg. From 1952 to 1955 he studied organ, composition, and choral conducting at the Stuttgart College of Music.[1] He completed his studies withFernando Germani in Rome and at theAccademia Musicale Chigiana inSiena.[1]
While still a student in 1954, he founded his first choir, theGächinger Kantorei.[4] Starting in 1957, he was organist and choirmaster at the Stuttgart Gedächtniskirche, conducting the choirFiguralchor der Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart.[5] From 1963 to 1966, he taught organ and choral at theSpandauer Kirchenmusikschule, conducting theSpandauer Kantorei.[6] He conducted theBach-Collegium Stuttgart from 1965, which often performed with theGächinger Kantorei. He toured widely with both ensembles.[7] In 1967, he studied withLeonard Bernstein in New York.[8]
In 1969 Rilling was appointed professor of choral conducting at theFrankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, a post that he held until 1985.[2] His students includeHans-Christoph Rademann,[9]Matthias Manasi [de][10] andEberhard Friedrich [de].[11] In 1969, Rilling took over as conductor of theFrankfurter Kantorei.[12]
Rilling became well known for his performances of the music ofJohann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. He often introduced the music in talk concerts.[13] 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.[13] He also recorded many romantic and classical choral and orchestral works, including the works byJohannes Brahms.[13] In 1988, Rilling conducted the world premiere of theMessa per Rossini; he also conducted the work at theRheingau Musik Festival in 2001, where he traditionally led the final concert.[14]
Rilling co-founded theOregon Bach Festival in 1970,[15] and served as its artistic director until 2013.[16] The same year, he was the first German conductor to conduct theIsrael Philharmonic Orchestra.[13]
Rilling co-founded and led theInternationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981.[13] In 2001, Rilling created the Festival Ensemble to be part of the European Music Festival Stuttgart.[14] Rilling became the Festival Conductor and lecturer at the Toronto Bach Festival in 2004. He retired from leading concerts in 2018.[13]
Rilling died inLeonberg on 11 February 2026, at the age of 92.[13][7][3]
Rilling's recording of Krzysztof Penderecki'sCredo, commissioned and performed by theOregon Bach Festival, won the 2001Grammy Award for best choral performance.[17] He received theBach Medal in 2004.[18] He was the 2011 recipient of theHerbert von Karajan Music Prize.[19]
For Rilling's 75th birthday, his record labelHänssler Classic released his entire Bach edition on iTunes.[20]
