Wolfgang Schäfer (Choral Conductor)

Born: April 7, 1945 - Staufen im Breisgau, Germany

The German choral conductor, Wolfgang Schäfer, studied in Freiburg, pedagogy, vocal and choral conducting, as well as in orchestral conducting in Stuttgart. From 1971 to 1982 he taught at the Hochschule für Musik. In 1971 he founded the chamber choir Freiburger Vokalensemble and since then he is its artistic director. With his choir he travelled almost all European countries and Turkey, Israel, East Asia, Russia, South Africa, Canada and the USA. His work with the choir is documented on numerous, CD, radio and TV recordings. He won with the Freiburger Vokalensemble several international competitions (1981: BBC competition "Let the People Sing", 1^st prize; 1984: Competition of the European Broadcasting Union, 1^st prize).

Since 1982 Wolfgang Schäfer is a successor of Helmuth Rilling as professor of choral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main. Also 1982, he succeeded Kurt Thomas and Helmuth Rilling as artistic director of the Frankfurter Kantorei, which he headed until 1997. Moreover, as a He is also artistic director of the annual Music Week his home town Staufen, which regularly includes several concerts with an emphasis on early music and later eras, and in which courses are also offered (Studio for Early Music, choral conducting, ensemble singing). In 1992 he conducted the festival concert (L.v. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis) for the 10^th anniversary of the World Choir Association in Namur (Belgium). As a guest conductor he worked most recently in Japan, Poland, Latvia and Portugal, and with the Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart at the European music festivals in 2003 and 2004.

Wolfgang Schäfer operates as juror at international music competitions. He is regularly invited as a lecturer at trade associations, international competitions and symposiums, including in Italy, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Poland, Canada and Korea. Since his student days in Freiburg Wolfgang Schäfer is a member of the cabaret trio BosArt.

Recordings

With the Freiburger Vokalensemble:
Anton Bruckner: Motetten. EOM, Freiburg 1980
Das deutsche Chorlied um 1600. Christophorus, Freiburg 1982
Anton Bruckner: Motetten. Christophorus, Freiburg 1984
Arthur Honegger: Le roi David. Christophorus, Freiburg 1985
Georg Philipp Telemann: Die Tageszeiten. BMG Ariola, Hamburg 1990
Georg Philipp Telemann: Das selige Erwägen des bittern Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi. Sonomaster, Stuttgart 1990
Cristóbal de Morales: Geistliche Werke. Christophorus, Freiburg 1990
Johannes Brahms: Zigeunerlieder. Sonomaster, Stuttgart 1991
Johannes Brahms: Deutsche Volkslieder. Bayer, Bietigheim-Bissingen 1996
Musik-Dokumente 1970 - 2003 aus der Freiburger Pauluskirche. Notabene, Freiburg 2003
Joseph Rheinberger: Vom Goldenen Horn. Carus, Stuttgart 2005
Conradin Kreutzer: Goethes „Faust“. Gesänge. ARTS

With the Frankfurter Kantorei:
Gustav Mahler: Sinfonie Nr. 3. Frankfurter Kantorei (Choreinstudierung: Wolfgang Schäfer), Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, Leitung: Eliahu Inbal. Denon, Ratingen 1987
Igor Stravinski: Les Noces; Carl Orff: Catulli carmina. Koch, München 1990
Harald Genzmer: Deutsche Messe. Cappella, Wiesbaden 1993
Antonín Dvořák: Messe D-Dur; Vier geistliche Gesänge. Freiburger Musik-Forum, Freiburg 1993
Joseph Rheinberger: Messe in f-Moll; Sechs religiöse Gesänge; Requiem in d-Moll. Stuttgart, Carus 1998
Felix Mendelssohn: Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Frankfurter Kantorei (Choreinstudierung Wolfgang Schäfer), Städtisches Opernhaus- und Museumsorchester, Leitung: Sylvain Cambreling. Frankfurter Museums-Gesellschaft 2001

With the BosArt Trio:
Unerhörte Meisterwerke. 1984
Ein Schluck aus dem Opernglas. 1987
Scherzo wie Watsche. 1991
Musik von A bis Zett. 1994
Insalata Mista. 1998
Die Fledermaus und das Phantom. 2000
Bach Blüten. 2001

Source: German Wikipedia & Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main Websites, English translation by Aryeh Oron (December 2008)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (December 2008)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Wolfgang Schäfer

Conductor

G.P. Telemann: Passions-Oratorium Seliges Erwägen, TWV 5:2

Links to other Sites

Wolfgang Schäfer (Chorleiter) (Wikipedia) [German]

Prof. Wolfgang Schafer (Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main) [German]