Gisbert Schneider (14 January 1934 – 1 December 2018) was a German professor for artistic organ playing and

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

at the Folkwang Hochschule

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

as well as

Kirchenmusikdirektor Kirchenmusikdirektor (KMD, director of church music) is a German title for professional church musicians (' who have responsibility for not only a parish but a larger region, in both Protestant and Catholic church music. The title is also sometimes ...

Life

Born in Wattenscheid, Schneider grew up in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. There he received his first organ lessons from Johannes Ernst Köhler. He completed his

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

and

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

studies with

Siegfried Reda Siegfried Reda (27 July 1916 – 13 December 1968) was a German composer and pipe organ player. Life Born in Bochum, Reda studied with Ernst Pepping and Hugo Distler at the Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule and was an organist in Bochum, Gelsenkirche ...

at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen. This was followed by a position as a church musician in

Velbert Velbert ( Low Rhenish: ''Vèlbed'') is a town in the district of Mettmann, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings. Geography Velbert is located on the hills of 'Niede ...

and

Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

. Since 1961 he was also a lecturer at Folkwang Hochschule

, 1970 he was appointed professor. Schneider was the prize winner of international organ competitions and in 1958 he received the . In addition to his international concert activities, he was a jury member of international organ competitions. There were particularly close scientific cooperations with the

Academy of Music in Kraków The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krz ...

and . There exist radio and vinyl recordings of Schneider as well as CDs/

SACD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple aud ...

recordings. He was the founder and for more than 50 years the director of the Kantorei Velbert. In 1996 he was awarded the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

.CD-Booklet ''J. S. Orgelwerke'', Cybele Scneider died in

aged 84.

Discography

* ''

Wilhelm Middelschulte Wilhelm Middelschulte (April 3, 1863, Werve, Kreis Hamm, now part of Kamen – May 4, 1943, Dortmund) was a German organist and composer who resided in America for most of his career. Life Middelschulte initially studied organ with August Knabe ...

(1863–1943): Orgelwerke'', Gisbert Schneider an der Großen Alexander Schuke Orgel im Dom zu Erfurt, Audio-CD 1997, Cybele Records * ''

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

: Orgelwerke auf der großen Silbermann-Orgel im Dom zu Freiberg'', Gisbert Schneider, Mehrkanal SACD abspielbar auch auf herkömmlichen CD-Playern, 2003, Cybele Records

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Gisbert 1934 births 2018 deaths People from Wattenscheid German classical organists German conductors (music) Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Kirchenmusikdirektor People from Weimar