Helmuth Rilling
"Music should startle people and reach deep down inside them forcing
them to reflect. It should never be merely 'comfortable,' never
fossilized, never soothing." This is Helmuth Rilling's credo. Born in
1933 in Stuttgart, Mr. Rilling is active as a conductor, pedagogue, and
an ambassador for the music of J. S. Bach worldwide.
In 1954, Helmuth Rilling founded the Gächinger Kantorei and 11 years
later in 1965, he founded the Bach Collegium Stuttgart as the choir's
regular orchestral partner. Ever since, Mr. Rilling has been intensely
involved with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and has felt a strong
link to this composer's works. In addition, Mr. Rilling has been a
fervent advocate of "neglected" romantic choral music as well as
commissioning and performing contemporary choral music. In 2000, he led
the critically acclaimed premiere of Passions composed by
Wolfgang Rihm, Sofia Gubaidulina, Osvaldo Golijov, and Tan Dun.
Inspired by his devotion to Bach, in 1981 Mr. Rilling founded the
Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart dedicated to furthering the music
of J. S. Bach through public concerts, master classes for singers and
conductors, symposia, and residencies all over the world, in addition to
special annual projects such as the Bach Week Stuttgart and the European
Music Festival Stuttgart. Of special importance to Mr. Rilling is the
encouragement of young musicians and, in 2001, he founded the
Festvalensemble Stuttgart. This ensemble, consisting of choir and
orchestra, draws on the participation of talented young musicians from
25 different countries.
Combining the roles of pedagogue and conductor, Mr. Rilling has devised
a system of "lecture concerts" in which he says he "peers over the
composer's shoulder" as he explains to the audience certain aspects of a
composer's work by means of musical examples. He has recently led such
concerts with the orchestras of the University of Miami, Dartmouth
College, and Yale University.
Either together with his house ensembles in Stuttgart or as a guest
conductor, Mr. Rilling is active on the international concert podium,
performing regularly throughout Europe, US, and Canada. He has a special
friendship dating back some 30 years with the Israel Philharmonic, and
since 1970 has been the Artistic Director of the Oregon Bach Festival.
Upcoming engagements in North America include performances with the
National Symphony Orchestra as well as the Orchestra of St. Luke's in a
performance of Haydn's The Creation at Carnegie Hall. He has
recently appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (where he has
appeared annually as part of the Toronto International Bach Festival),
the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Minnesota Orchestra,
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the
National Symphony Orchestra, and in 2007 he led a choral workshop at
Carnegie Hall that culminated in a performance of J.S. Bach's St.
Matthew's Passion. In January 2005, he led a highly acclaimed
premiere of Robert Levin's new completion of Mozart's Mass in C
Minor at Carnegie Hall.
As a testament to his inexhaustible activity are hundreds of CD, radio
and TV recordings. From 1970 to 1984, Mr. Rilling was the first musician
to record all of Bach's Cantatas (Hänssler Classic). Furthermore, his
was the guiding hand behind the Internationale Bachakademie's
critically-acclaimed project to record the complete works of Johann
Sebastian Bach (172 CDs) for Hänssler Classic which was released in 2000
to coincide with the 250th Anniversary of Bach's death. The many prizes
Helmuth Rilling has received include the UNESCO International Music
Prize in 1994 and the Theodor Heuss Prize in 1995. In 2003 he became an
Honorary Member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. He won
a coveted Grammy Award in 2000 for his recording of Krzystof
Penderecki's Credo and was again nominated in 2001 for his
recording of Wolfgang Rihm's Deus Passus.
Last revised
February 14, 2010