Alois Ickstadt (born 22 September 1930) is a German pianist, choral conductor, university professor and composer. He was professor at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt. He promoted choral singing from children's choir to adult groups for the state broadcaster

Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ARD. Studios Do ...

, namely the Figuralchor Frankfurt which he founded in 1966 and conducted until 2011.

Life

Ickstadt studied music pedagogy at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt. He also studied piano with Erich Flinsch, composition with

Kurt Hessenberg Kurt Hessenberg (17 August 1908 – 17 June 1994) was a German composer and professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt. Life Kurt Hessenberg was born on 17 August 1908 in Frankfurt, as the fourth and last child of ...

and conducting with

Walther Davisson Walther Davisson (15 December 1885 – 18 July 1973) was a German violinist and conductor. Background Davisson was born in Frankfurt am Main. He studied in Frankfurt at the Hoch Conservatory from 1900 to 1906 with Johann Naret-Koning and ...

and

Karl Maria Zwißler Karl Maria Zwißler (12 August 1900 – 15 September 1984) was a German conductor, and academic. He was for decades the Generalmusikdirektor and Intendant of the Staatstheater Mainz. He taught conducting at the music universities of Stuttgart an ...

. Interested in cultural relevance, he also studied German, musicology, philosophy and history at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main. He took classes with

Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blue ...

and

Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer (; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist who was famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the Frankfurt School of social research. Horkheimer addressed authoritarianism, militari ...

, whose philosophy shaped his life. During his studies, he worked as a pianist for radio stations, with a focus on contemporary music, collaborating with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Dean Dixon,

Sixten Ehrling Evert Sixten Ehrling (3 April 1918 – 13 February 2005) was a Swedish conductor and pianist who, during a long career, served as the music director of the Royal Swedish Opera and the principal conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a ...

and Georg Solti. He also accompanied singers in recitals. Beginning in the early 1960s, Ickstadt created a new concept for working with choirs, in collaboration with

(HR), the

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

state radio and television broadcaster. In 1961, he founded the children's choir of the HR, Kinderchor Frankfurt; an adult choir, the Figuralchor Frankfurt, was formed in 1966. The concept was to begin educating choral singers when they were children and continue with them into adulthood, not only providing systematic vocal training but also expanding their general musical knowledge. Ickstadt conducted the Figuralchor in concerts, radio productions and recordings. The first Figuralchor performances, beginning in 1966, were broadcasts; the ensemble sang its first concert for a live audience in 1970, performing motets at

St. Leonhard Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559), is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, in Hau ...

church. Ickstadt conducted the choir until 2011. Ickstadt was a professor at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt from 1968 until his retirement in 1995.

Awards

* (9 June 2006) * Orlando di Lasso Medal (22 November 2015)

Work

Compositions

* ''Eppstein-Kantate'', three-part cantata for choir and orchestra (Middle Ages, Thirty-Years War, Modern Times), for the 650th anniversary of

Eppstein Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...

, 1968 * ''Kritzel-Kratzel will zum Mond. Spannendes Hörspiel.'', audio play, 25711 XAW. Ariola Eurodisc. Munich 1979Compositions by Alois Ickstadt
German National Library * ''Kritzel-Kratzel und was nun?Spannendes Hörspiel.'', audio play, 25712 XAW. Ariola Eurodisc. Munich 1979 * Richard Rudolf Klein: ''Kinder musizieren. Schulwerk für das erste Zusammenspiel''. Fidulafon 1165. Fidula. Boppard and Salzburg 1981

Recordings

* Bach: ''Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland'', BWV 62, with Hildegard Heichele, Ria Bollen; tenor, Heiner Hopfner, Ernst Gerold Schramm, Kammerorchester Alfred Sous, Figuralchor des Hessischen Rundfunks (radio, c. 1981), Melisma 726 * Bach: Mass in B minor, Ulrike Sonntag, Alison Browner,

Adalbert Kraus Adalbert Kraus (born 27 April 1937 in Aschaffenburg) is a German tenor in opera and concert, known for singing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Career Adalbert Kraus first graduated in German studies, theology, and philosophy and in 1967, ...

, Ernst Gerold Schramm (live recording at St. Gallus, Flörsheim, May 1987), Melisma. * Haydn: ''

Die Jahreszeiten ''The Seasons'' (German: ''Die Jahreszeiten'', Hob. XXI:3) is a secular oratorio by Joseph Haydn, first performed in 1801. History Haydn was led to write ''The Seasons'' by the great success of his previous oratorio '' The Creation'' (1798), whic ...

''. F 669 500/01. Frankfurter Museumsgesellschaft. Frankfurt, 1987.Recordings by Alois Ickstadt

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

* Bach: '' St John Passion'', Sonntag, Browner, Kraus, Schramm, Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann (live recording at St. Gallus, Flörsheim), Opus 27042. Cappella Wiesbaden 1989 * ''Gallus-Konzerte in der Barockkirche zu Flörsheim am Main'', works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Joseph Rheinberger and others. Opus 27035. Cappella Wiesbaden 1989 * Zemlinsky: '' Der Traumgörge''. Capriccio 10 241/42. Delta Music. Frechen 1989 * ''Gallus-Konzerte Flörsheim am Main'', works by Mozart,

Dieterich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal a ...

, Mendelssohn, Bach, Haydn, Rheinberger and others, Sonntag, Browner, Kraus, Schramm (live recording at St. Gallus, Flörsheim, Opus 27042. Cappella Wiesbaden 1990 * Orff: ''

Carmina burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...

'', Frankfurter Museumsgesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main 1992. * Brahms: '' Zigeunerlieder'', Schwann Musica Mundi 3-16 16-2. Koch International. Munich 1992. * Orff: '' Trionfi''. Wergo WER 6275-2. Schott Wergo Music Media. Mainz 1995Trionfi / Carl Orff

* Andrei Volkonsky: ''Der 148. Psalm'' and others. Wergo WER 6601-2. Schott Wergo Music Media. Mainz 1996. * ''Gedenk-Konzert'', works by Brahms, Mendelssohn,

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

. Melisma 7139/40-2. Cappella Wiesbaden 1998 * Brahms: ''

Ein deutsches Requiem ''A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures'', Op. 45 (german: Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, links=no) by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, a soprano and a baritone soloist, compos ...

''. Melisma 7177-2. Cappella Wiesbaden 2001 * Mendelssohn: ''

Elias Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several h ...

''. Frankfurter Museumsgesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main 2001.

Literature

* * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ickstadt, Alois German classical pianists Male classical pianists German choral conductors German music educators German composers Academic staff of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1930 births Living people People from Main-Taunus-Kreis 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians