Helmuth Rilling

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.

Classical Selection - Bach: Jesu, meine Freude - Jesu my Joy - 2025-12-18T00:00:00.000000Z

Classical Selection - Bach: Kyrie-Gloria Masses BWV 236 & 233 - 2025-12-05T00:00:00.000000Z

St Matthew Passion 1781 & Magnificat WQ 215 - 2024-12-20T00:00:00.000000Z

Paul Gerhardt - Die güldne Sonne - Die schönsten Choräle - 2024-09-20T00:00:00.000000Z

Aus tiefer Not - 2024-06-14T00:00:00.000000Z

Dvořák: Stabat Mater, Op. 58, B. 71 - 2022-08-05T00:00:00.000000Z

Haydn: Great Choral Works - 2021-11-05T00:00:00.000000Z

Green Edition - Mozart: Symphony No. 36 "Linz Symphony" & Sinfonia concertante, K. 364 - 2021-04-06T00:00:00.000000Z

Green Edition - Mozart: Sinfonia concertante & Symphonies - 2021-04-02T00:00:00.000000Z

Te Deum - 2020-11-20T00:00:00.000000Z

Bach: Messe, BWV 236 - Messe, BWV 233 - 2020-09-18T00:00:00.000000Z

Beethoven: Choral Works - 2020-04-17T00:00:00.000000Z

Bach: Violin Concertos - 2019-04-12T00:00:00.000000Z

J.S. Bach: Flauto traverso obbligato! - 2019-02-08T00:00:00.000000Z

Haydn: Masses - 2018-05-18T00:00:00.000000Z

Mendelssohn: Sacred Works - 2018-05-04T00:00:00.000000Z

Simply Bach Harpsichord Concertos (Famous Classical Music) - 2018-04-30T00:00:00.000000Z

Simply Bach Restored Oboe Concertos (Famous Classical Music) - 2018-04-30T00:00:00.000000Z

Orange Edition - Brahms: Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 65 & Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83 - 2017-03-13T00:00:00.000000Z

Classical Selection - Mozart: Coronation Mass - 2016-10-28T00:00:00.000000Z

Blue Edition - Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 59 & 49 - 2016-09-21T00:00:00.000000Z

Green Edition - Haydn: Symphony No. 59, Hob. I:59 & Keyboard Concerto No. 9, Hob. XVIII:9 - 2016-09-08T00:00:00.000000Z

Green Edition - Mozart: Concertone for 2 Violins, K. 190 & Piano Concerto No. 15, K. 450 - 2016-08-26T00:00:00.000000Z

Green Edition - Mozart: Concertone for 2 Violins, K. 190 & Piano Concerto No. 8, K. 246 - 2016-08-26T00:00:00.000000Z

Red Edition - Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 2, Op. 120 & Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 65 - 2016-06-13T00:00:00.000000Z

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