{{Short description|German choral conductor (1933–2026)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Helmuth Rilling | image = Helmuth Rilling 2013 (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Rilling in 2013 | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|05|29|df=y}} | birth_place = Stuttgart, German Reich | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|02|11|1933|05|29|df=y}} | death_place = Leonberg, Germany | education = | occupation = {{plainlist| * Choral conductor * Academic teacher }} | organization = {{plainlist| * Gächinger Kantorei * Frankfurter Kantorei * Bach-Collegium Stuttgart * Oregon Bach Festival * Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart * Frankfurt Musikhochschule }} | awards = {{ubl| Herbert von Karajan Music Prize | Grammy Award }} }}
'''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 == Rilling was born on 29 May 1933 in Stuttgart<ref name="Munzinger" /><ref name="Keller" /> into a musical family;<ref name="Munzinger" /> his father was organist and music teacher, and his mother a violinist.<ref name="Molnar" /> Rilling attended school at Protestant seminaries in Württemberg where he received musical and theological training. After his Abitur at {{ill|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.<ref name="Munzinger" />
While still a student in 1954, he founded his first choir, the Gächinger Kantorei.<ref name="Felber" /><ref name="St. Johann" /> From 1957, he was organist and choirmaster at the Stuttgart Gedächtniskirche where he conducted the choir Figuralchor der Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart<ref name="Munzinger" /> and was instrumental in the building of a new Walcker organ.<ref name="Organ" /> From 1963 to 1966, he taught organ and choral at the Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule, conducting the Spandauer Kantorei.<ref name="Bürger" /> He founded and conducted the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart from 1965, which often performed with the Gächinger Kantorei.<ref name="Felber" /> In New York City in 1967, he took a course in conducting with Leonard Bernstein,<ref name="Munzinger" /> who became a model for introducing the music to be performed.<ref name="Molnar" />
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.<ref name="Keller" /> His students include Hans-Christoph Rademann,<ref name="Hippel" /> Matthias Manasi<ref name="Moderna" /> and {{ill|Eberhard Friedrich|de}}.<ref name="Bayreuth" /> In 1969, Rilling also took over as conductor of the Frankfurter Kantorei.<ref name="FK" />
thumb|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<ref name="Schleider" /> and often introducing the music in talk concerts.<ref name="SWR" /> 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.<ref name="Molnar" /> Rilling co-founded the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970,<ref name="Lindemann Malone" /> and served as its artistic director until 2013.<ref name="Stabler" /> Also in 1970, he was the first German conductor to lead the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.<ref name="SWR" /> 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.<ref name="Felber" /> He was an ambassador bringing Bach's music towards better understanding outside West Germany. The Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki became a friend.<ref name="Molnar" />
Rilling co-founded and led the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981,<ref name="SWR" /> offering seminars, lectures, open rehearsals, master classes, workshops and concerts.<ref name="Molnar" /> In 1988, he conducted the world premiere of the ''Messa per Rossini'';<ref name="Felber" /> he also conducted the work at the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2001, where he traditionally led the final concert.<ref name="FES" /> In 2001, Rilling created the Festival Ensemble as part of the European Music Festival Stuttgart.<ref name="FES" /> 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,<ref name="Allen" /> and retired from conducting concerts in 2018.<ref name="SWR" />
Rilling died in Leonberg on 11 February 2026, at the age of 92.<ref name="SWR" /> Gerald Felber, writing for the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', characterised Rilling first as a mediator, adding "persistent, determined and with stamina".<ref name="Felber" />
== Recordings and awards == 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.<ref name="Molnar" /><ref name="Felber" /> He recorded the complete works of Bach by 2000 in the {{ill|Edition Bachakademie|de}}, a monumental task involving over 1,000 pieces of music – spanning 172 compact discs.<ref name="Keller" /><ref name="SWR" /> He also recorded many classical and romantic choral and orchestral works, including the works of Johannes Brahms.<ref name="SWR" /> 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.<ref name="Grammy" /> He received the Bach Medal in 2004.<ref name="Schwäbische Post" /> Another example of his recording 20th century works was Honegger's ''Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' (Hänssler Classic, 2013).<ref name="Allen" />
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.<ref name="Wurzel" />
For Rilling's 75th birthday, the record label Hänssler Classic released his entire Bach edition on iTunes.<ref name="Pro" />
== References == <references> <ref name="Allen">{{cite news | last = Allen | first = David | title = Helmuth Rilling, Who Recorded Huge Swaths of Bach, Dies at 92 | newspaper = The New York Times | date = 15 February 2026 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/arts/music/helmuth-rilling-dead.html | access-date = 16 February 2026 |volume=175|issue=60796|issn=0362-4331|language=en-US|page=23}}</ref> <ref name="Bürger">{{cite web | last = Bürger | first = Frank | title = Erfolgreicher Orgelwettbewerb in der Lutherkirche Spandau | work = Deutsch-Polnische Nachrichten | date = 7 June 2021 | url = https://deutsch-polnische-nachrichten.eu/2021/06/07/erfolgreicher-orgelwettbewerb-in-der-lutherkirche-spandau/ | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 24 March 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230324150347/https://deutsch-polnische-nachrichten.eu/2021/06/07/erfolgreicher-orgelwettbewerb-in-der-lutherkirche-spandau/ | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Felber">{{cite news | last = Felber | first = Gerald | url = https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/musik-und-buehne/nachruf-auf-den-dirigenten-helmuth-rilling-accg-110835863.html | title = Im Gespräch mit Bach | newspaper = FAZ | date = 12 February 2026 | language = de | access-date = 14 February 2026 | archive-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20260212112311/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/musik-und-buehne/nachruf-auf-den-dirigenten-helmuth-rilling-accg-110835863.html | url-status = live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> <ref name="Hippel">{{cite news | last = Hippel | first = Klemens | title = Rezension zu Johann Christian Bachs Requiem | url = https://www.concerti.de/rezensionen/hans-christoph-rademann-entdeckung/ | magazine = Concerti | date = 9 November 2011 | language = de | access-date = 12 December 2025 | archive-date = 14 August 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250814211900/https://www.concerti.de/rezensionen/hans-christoph-rademann-entdeckung/ | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Keller">{{cite web | last = Keller | first = Matthias | title = Zum Tod von Helmuth Rilling: Der Bach-Papst | website = BR-KLASSIK | date = 12 February 2026 | url = https://www.br-klassik.de/aktuell/news-kritik/helmuth-rilling-gestorben-bach-stuttgart-nachruf-100.html | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 }}</ref> <ref name="Lindemann Malone">{{cite web | last = Lindemann Malone | first = Andrew | url = https://www.allmusic.com/artist/helmuth-rilling-mn0000818704/biography | title = Helmuth Rilling | work = AllMusic | date = | access-date = 27 June 2019 }}</ref> <ref name="Molnar">{{cite web | last = Molnar | first = Laszlo | title = "Mr. Bach" Helmuth Rilling wird 90: Thrilling Rilling | work = BR | date = 30 May 2023 | url = https://www.br-klassik.de/aktuell/news-kritik/portraet-helmuth-rilling-wird-90-jahre-alt-100.html | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 15 May 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250515201411/https://www.br-klassik.de/aktuell/news-kritik/portraet-helmuth-rilling-wird-90-jahre-alt-100.html | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Schleider">{{cite news | last = Schleider | first = Tim | url = https://www.esslinger-zeitung.de/inhalt.im-alter-von-92-jahren-stuttgarter-dirigenten-legende-helmuth-rilling-ist-tot.4bec97a8-5b27-4a94-b359-49fb86a81d09.html | title = Stuttgarter Dirigenten-Legende Helmuth Rilling ist tot | newspaper = Eßlinger Zeitung | date = 12 February 2026 | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 }}</ref> <ref name="Stabler">{{cite news | last = Stabler | first = David | author-link = David Stabler | title = Oregon Bach Festival names Matthew Halls to replace Helmuth Rilling in 2013 | newspaper = The Oregonian | date = 24 August 2011 | url = http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2011/08/oregon_bach_festival_names_mat.html | access-date = 11 December 2014 | archive-date = 24 September 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924143023/http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2011/08/oregon_bach_festival_names_mat.html | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Wurzel">{{cite web | last = Wurzel | first = Christoph | title = Baden-Baden: Herbert von Karajan Musikpreis 2011 an Helmuth Rilling | work = Online Musik Magazin | date = 25 November 2009 | url = https://www.omm.de/veranstaltungen/konzerte20112012/BAD-2011-hvk-musikpreis.html | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 26 December 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241226051435/https://www.omm.de/veranstaltungen/konzerte20112012/BAD-2011-hvk-musikpreis.html | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Bayreuth">{{cite news | work = Bayreuth Festival | title = Eberhard Friedrich | url = https://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/fsdb/mitwirkende/eberhard-friedrich/ | date = 1 April 2016 | access-date = 28 November 2025 | archive-date = 16 December 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20251216215640/https://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/fsdb/mitwirkende/eberhard-friedrich/ | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="FES">{{cite web | title = Festival Ensemble Stuttgart | work = Festival Ensemble Stuttgart | url = http://www.festivalensemble.org/2006/pdf/2006090_prosp_dt.pdf | language = de | date = 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181322/http://www.festivalensemble.org/2006/pdf/2006090_prosp_dt.pdf | archive-date = 3 March 2016 }}</ref> <ref name="FK">{{cite web | title = Frankfurter Kantorei | work = Frankfurter Kantorei | url = https://www.frankfurterkantorei.de/ | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 22 April 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250422035248/http://frankfurterkantorei.de/ | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Grammy">{{cite web | title = Helmuth Rilling | work = Grammy Awards | date = 29 January 2026 | url = https://www.grammy.com/artists/helmuth-rilling/6055 | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 20 August 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250820193635/https://www.grammy.com/artists/helmuth-rilling/6055 | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Moderna">{{cite news | work = Moderna TV | title = Матиас Манаси е един от най-известните и иновативни диригенти на международната музикална сцена | url = https://modernavratza.com/izvesten-nemski-dirigent-i-brilyantna-balgarska-pianistka-pristigat-vav-vraca-za-koncerta-na-16-ti-mart-v-meseca-na-klavishite_34442.html | date = 13 March 2023 | language = | access-date = 28 March 2025 | archive-date = 1 April 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250401172546/https://modernavratza.com/izvesten-nemski-dirigent-i-brilyantna-balgarska-pianistka-pristigat-vav-vraca-za-koncerta-na-16-ti-mart-v-meseca-na-klavishite_34442.html | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Munzinger">{{cite encyclopedia | title = Helmuth Rilling | encyclopedia = Munzinger Archive | url = https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Helmuth%20Rilling/00/17111 | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 }}</ref>
<ref name="Organ">{{cite web | title = Stuttgart, Gedächtniskirche – Organ index, die freie Orgeldatenbank | work = Organ Index | url = https://organindex.de/index.php?title=Stuttgart,_Ged%C3%A4chtniskirche | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 17 April 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250417173539/https://organindex.de/index.php?title=Stuttgart,_Ged%C3%A4chtniskirche | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Pro">{{cite web | title = Der "Bachpod": Bachs Gesamtwerk auf dem iPod | website = PRO | date = 13 August 2008 | url = https://www.pro-medienmagazin.de/der-bachpod-bachs-gesamtwerk-auf-dem-ipod/ | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 13 January 2026 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20260113155918/https://www.pro-medienmagazin.de/der-bachpod-bachs-gesamtwerk-auf-dem-ipod/ | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="Schwäbische Post">{{cite press release | date = 30 April 2004 | title = Rilling ausgezeichnet | url = http://www.schwaebische-post.de/p/872501/ | newspaper = Schwäbische Post | location = Aalen | agency = dpa | language = de | access-date = 4 July 2018 | archive-date = 4 July 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180704213628/http://www.schwaebische-post.de/p/872501/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> <ref name="St. Johann">{{cite web | title = Idylle mitten auf der Schwäbischen Alb | work = Gemeinde St. Johann | date = 6 December 2016 | url = https://www.st-johann.de/de/engagiert-lebendig/St.-Johann/Ortsteile/Gaechingen/Gaechinger-Kantorei | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 7 August 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250807023355/https://www.st-johann.de/de/engagiert-lebendig/St.-Johann/Ortsteile/Gaechingen/Gaechinger-Kantorei | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="SWR">{{cite web | url = https://www.swr.de/kultur/musik/helmuth-rilling-chorleiter-gestorben-tot-100.html | title = Helmuth Rilling ist tot: Gründer der Bachakademie Stuttgart starb mit 92 Jahren | work = SWR | date = 12 February 2026 | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-date = 12 February 2026 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20260212122152/https://www.swr.de/kultur/musik/helmuth-rilling-chorleiter-gestorben-tot-100.html | url-status = live }}</ref> </references>
== Further reading == * {{cite book | last=Bolin | first=Norbert | title=Helmuth Rilling begegnen | publisher=Hänssler-Verlag | publication-place=Holzgerlingen | date=2008 | isbn=978-3-7751-4794-1 | language=de |ref=no }} * {{cite book | last=Hansen | first=Sharon | title=Helmuth Rilling | publisher=Roger Dean Pub. Co | publication-place=Dayton, Ohio | date=1997 | isbn=978-0-89328-150-2 |ref=no }} * {{cite web | title=Helmuth Rilling | website=Internationale Bachakademie | url=https://www.bachakademie.de/de/institution-bachakademie/helmuth-rilling.html | language=de | access-date=12 February 2026 |ref=no }} * {{cite web | title=Helmuth Rilling | website=The Kennedy Center | url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/r/ra-rn/helmuth-rilling/ | access-date=12 February 2026 |ref=no }} * {{cite book | last1=Rilling | first1=Helmuth | last2=Krellmann | first2=Hanspeter | title=Helmuth Rilling Ein Leben mit Bach | publisher=Bärenreiter | publication-place=Kassel | date=2013 | isbn=978-3-89487-926-6 | language=de |ref=no }} * {{cite book | last=Rilling | first=Sara Maria | title=Mein Vater Helmuth Rilling | publisher=Hänssler | publication-place=Holzgerlingen | date=12 June 2013 | isbn=978-3-7751-7161-8 | language=de |ref=no }} * {{cite web | title = Dirigent Helmuth Rilling gestorben | newspaper=Neue Musikzeitung | date = 12 February 2026 | url = https://www.nmz.de/personalia-portraets/personalia/ein-leben-fuer-bach-dirigent-helmuth-rilling-gestorben | language = de | access-date = 12 February 2026 }}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{Discogs artist}} * {{IMDb name|2733254}} * [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Rilling-Helmuth.htm Helmuth Rilling (Conductor, Organ)] ''Bach Cantatas'' * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101124060836/http://www.helmuth-rilling.de/data_vita.htm vita – fotos] helmuth-rilling.de {{in lang|de}} * Duffie, Bruce: [http://www.bruceduffie.com/rilling.html Helmuth Rilling] (interview), 2 March 2000
{{Herbert von Karajan Music Prize}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rilling, Helmuth}} Category:1933 births Category:2026 deaths Category:21st-century German conductors (music) Category:21st-century German male musicians Category:Accademia Musicale Chigiana alumni Category:Bach conductors Category:German choral conductors Category:German male conductors (music) Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Herbert von Karajan Music Prize winners Category:Kirchenmusikdirektor Category:Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Musicians from Oregon Category:Musicians from Stuttgart Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg