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Helmut Winschermann (Conductor, Oboe) |
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Born: March 22, 1920 - Mülheim an der Ruhr, , Rhine, Prussia, Germany
Died: March 4, 2020 - Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
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The German conductor and oboist, Helmut [Helmuth] Winschermann, first studied violin at the Folkwangschule where he was pointed at the oboe which he studied with Johann Baptist Schlee. He studied also at the Conservatoire de Paris.
After only one year of oboe studies, Helmut Winschermann was engaged at the Witten municipal orchestra, followed by Bad Homburg and Oberhausen. He served in the military in World War II. After the war, he was principal oboe with the Rundfunkorchester Frankfurt. With the flautist Kurt Redel and harpsichordist Irmgard Lechner, he was a co-founder of the chamber music ensemble Collegium Pro Arte Munich, later called the Collegium Instrumentale Detmold. He recorded W.A. Mozart's Oboe Quartet in F major (K.370) with the Kehr Trio, issued in 1957 on Telefunken. He maintained a touring schedule as a soloist, and frequently collaborated with the Cappella Coloniensis, the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar conducted by Karl Ristenpart, and Karl Münchinger's Stuttgarter Kammerorchester.
In 1956 Helmut Winschermann was appointed principal chair of the oboe department at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, having taught there since 1948 when the institution was founded. His students include Hansjörg Schellenberger, Fumiaki Miyamoto, Ingo Goritzki, Günther Passin and Gernot Schmalfuß. He held the professorship until his retirement in 1985.
Helmut Winschermann founded the instrumental ensemble Deutsche Bachsolisten (German Bach Soloists) in 1960, in order to provide historically informed performances of the music J.S. Bach and his Baroque contemporaries. His ability to demonstrate a super-temporal valid making music brought in with numerous concert tours respect and unrestricted agreement for it. He initially divided his time between playing the oboe and conducting the group, but later focussed on conducting solely. This ensemble, which predominantly assumes itself the music of the Baroque era and ranks among the leading chamber orchestras in its type. The Deutsche Bachsolisten playing is characterised particularly by the unpretentious, sweet playing, which was developed within the groups of instruments, to form an exemplary delicately fanned out ensemble sound. He continued to be the ensemble’s director ever since. Under his direction they have made a multitude of recordings and toured widely internationally. They are particularly popular in Japan, having visited there at least 14 times. In 2010 the group celebrated its 50th anniversary in a concert at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, with the 90-year-old Winschermann conducting his own orchestration of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988). He turned 100 in March 2020.
In 1970, Hemuth Winschermann was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1992 (or 1995), he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2013, he received the Telemann Prize of Magdeburg. He was found dead at his home in Bonn on March 4, 2021, eighteen days short of his 101st birthday. |
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Sources:
Festpiele Balver Höhle Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (September 2001)
Ruud Janssen (February 2006)
Wikipedia Website (March 2021)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (September 2001, March 2021) |
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Helmut Winschermann : Short Biography | Ensembles: Deutsche Bachsolisten
Bach Discography: Recordings of Vocal Works | General Discussions
Arrangements/Transcriptions: Works | Recordings
Cantate Label: Recordings | General Discussions |
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Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works |
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Conductor |
As |
Works |
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Wilhelm Ehmann |
Oboe, Oboe d’amore |
BWV 49, BWV 64, BWV 84
[C-3] (1965): BWV 76, BWV 37 |
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Wolfgang Gönnenwein |
Oboe |
BWV 29, BWV 135 |
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Erich Hübner |
Oboe |
BWV 84 [w/ soprano Ursula Buckel] |
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Helmuth Kahlhöfer |
Oboe |
BWV 46, BWV 56, BWV 65, BWV 82
[C-3] (1966): BWV 61, BWV 132 |
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Karl Ristenpart |
Oboe |
BWV 159, BWV 199 [2nd], BWV 202 [2nd] |
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Kurt Thomas |
Oboe |
BWV 23, BWV 159 |
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Klaus Martin Ziegler |
Oboe |
BWV 68, BWV 172 |
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Links to other Sites |
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Festfpiele Balver Höhle [German]
Helmut Winschermann (Wikipedia) |
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