Helmuth Rilling
»Music should never be merely comfortable, never fossilized, never soothing.
It should startle people and reach deep down inside them, forcing them to reflect.«
This is the personal mission statement of Helmuth Rilling, the conductor, teacher and ambassador of Bach throughout the world, who founded the International Bach Academy Stuttgart in 1981 and directed it until 2013. As the "original cell," Helmuth Rilling gathered singers to form the Gächinger Kantorei in 1954, and in 1965 the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart joined him as an instrumental partner. His intensive study of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach dates from this period. He has also contributed to the rediscovery of Romantic choral music and promotes contemporary music by regularly commissioning compositions. With his ensembles, Rilling has given countless concerts internationally and has been in demand as a guest conductor with leading orchestras around the world. A special friendship binds him to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which he conducted in over 100 concerts together with the Gächinger Kantorei. From 1970 to 2013 he was Artistic Director of the Oregon Bach Festival, which he co-founded, one of the most high-profile music festivals in the USA.
In 1981 he founded the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. Rilling's music pedagogical impetus manifested itself internationally in workshops and work phases at universities and colleges worldwide, as well as in the compilation of international youth ensembles. Helmuth Rilling was the first conductor to record all of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas; for the Bach Year 2000, the complete recording of Bach's works appeared on 172 CDs under his artistic direction. With his recording of Penderecki's 'Credo' he won the Grammy 2000 for best choral performance and was nominated again in 2001 for his recording of 'Deus Passus' by Wolfgang Rihm. On the list of his extensive discography from recent years are works by Gubaidulina, Britten's 'War Requiem', Sven-David Sandström's 'Messiah' initiated by Rilling, the Verdi Requiem and Honegger's "Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher".
For his multifaceted commitment, Helmuth Rilling was awarded the International UNESCO Music Prize and the Theodor Heuss Prize "Deeds of Reconciliation," among others, and in 2003 he was elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2008, on the occasion of his 75th birthday, the conductor received the Great Staufer Medal in Gold, the highest award of the state of Baden-Württemberg. In November 2011, Helmuth Rilling was awarded the prestigious Herbert von Karajan Music Prize of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and on Reformation Day 2012 he received the Luther Medal of the Evangelical Church in Germany. In October 2013, Helmuth Rilling received the ECHO Klassik for his life's work.
Press & other voices
on the occasion of his 90th birthday on Whit Monday, May 29, 2023
Congratulations: Academy founder Helmuth Rilling on his 90th birthday / Bachakademie
From cantor to Carnegie Hall: Helmuth Rilling turns 90 / SWR
An opener of ears and hearts / Stuttgarter Nachrichten
Bach, earth-shattering - Helmuth Rilling turns 90
Friendship and faithfulness / kesseltoene.de
The important Bach interpreter Helmuth Rilling turns 90 / Die Rheinpfalz
Thrilling Rilling – »Mr. Bach« Helmuth Rilling turns 90 / BR Klassik
Gallery
Small selection for 90th birthday
-
1954: Foundation of the Gächinger Kantorei in the Haberer House in Gächingen (Photo: Bachakademie archive) -
1967: Helmuth and Martina Rilling in New York (Avery Fisher Hall) with Leonard Bernstein (Photo: Bachakademie archive) -
January 1976: Tel Aviv, Brahms, A German Requiem (Photo: Bachakademie archive) -
1985: Helmuth Rilling with German President Richard von Weizsäcker at the Bachakademie (Photo: Bachakademie archive) -
November 1987: Helmuth Rilling master class in Leipzig, in the background behind the music stand, smiling: Hans-Christoph Rademann (Photo: Barbara Stroff) -
November 1987: Helmuth Rilling master class in Leipzig, among the participants Hans-Christoph Rademann (back row 2nd from right / Photo: Archive Rilling) -
1994: Helmuth Rilling with Arvo Pärt in Berlin over the score of "Litany" (photo: (Photo: Bachakademie archive) -
August 1995: Helmuth Rilling with his longtime friend, the Bachakademie director Andreas Keller, premiere of "Requiem of Reconciliation" 50 years after the end of the war (photo: Bachakademie archive) -
1998: Eugene, Oregon Bach Festival, Royce Saltzman, Krzysztof Penderecki, Helmuth Rilling, Elżbieta Penderecka (l. to r. / Photo: Bachakademie archive) -
August 2003: Helmuth Rilling with María Guinand in Überlingen on Lake Constance, Festival Ensemble project with young people from all over the world (photo: Holger Schneider) -
July 2004: Eugene, Orgeon Bach Festival, Helmuth Rilling adores his Gächinger (photo: Holger Schneider) -
July 2004: Eugene, Orgeon Bach Festival, Helmuth Rilling with Krzysztof Penderecki (photo: Holger Schneider) -
September 2006 (not posed!): Helmuth Rilling at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona (photo: Holger Schneider) -
November 2011: Baden-Baden, concert on the occasion of the awarding of the Herbert von Karajan Prize to Helmuth Rilling (photo: Holger Schneider) -
July 2012: Helmuth Rilling during a concert break in France, Abbaye de Lessay (photo: Holger Schneider) -
Helmuth Rilling, April 2013 (photo: Holger Schneider) -
April 2013: Wolfgang Rihm and Helmuth Rilling at the Bach Academy over the score "Stille Feste" (photo: Holger Schneider) -
Helmuth Rilling, May 2013 (photo: Holger Schneider) -
August 2013: Handing over the baton from Helmuth Rilling to Hans-Christoph Rademann, with German President Joachim Gauck, Liederhalle Stuttgart (photo: Holger Schneider) -
Helmuth Rilling, October 2014 (photo: Holger Schneider) -
Helmuth Rilling, Musikfest Stuttgart 2017 (photo: Holger Schneider) -
Friederike and Hans-Christoph Rademann visiting the Rillings in Hohenstaufen, May 2023 (Photo: Martina Rilling)