Heinz Wunderlich (25 April 1919 – 10 March 2012) was a German organist, academic, and composer. He was known for playing the organ works of

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

. He studied in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

with

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

, a friend of Reger. Wunderlich worked as both a church musician and academic in Halle until 1957 when he fled to West Germany and became a church musician and academic in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He toured internationally and attracted students from many countries to study with him in Hamburg. After retiring from teaching, he went on to more compositions.

Career

Born in

, Wunderlich studied at the Musikhochschule there, with

who was a friend of Reger and premiered many of his organ works. He was in Halle the

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 ...

(KMD, director of church music) at the church St. Moritz and lecturer of organ at both the

Evangelische Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Halle The Evangelische Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Halle (Saale) is a university, specialised in music, in Halle an der Saale. It was established as the Evangelischen Kirchenmusikschule on 18 April 1926 by the consistory of the Evangelical Church of ...

, an academy of Protestant church music, and at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, a state academy of music, from 1943 to 1957. He was known as an organ virtuoso. In 1950, he played all the organ works by

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 ...

in a ' of 21 concerts. After he fled to West Germany in 1958, Wunderlich was KMD at the Hauptkirche Sankt Jacobi (Main church of St. James) in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, where he took care of the

Arp Schnitger Arp Schnitger (2 July 164828 July 1719 (buried)) was an influential Northern German organ builder. Considered the most paramount manufacturer of his time, Schnitger built or rebuilt over 150 organs. He was primarily active in Northern Europe, es ...

organ which

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 ...

had once admired when he applied for the same position. Wunderlich held the post until 1982. He was professor of organ playing and improvisation at the

Musikhochschule Hamburg A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

from 1959 to 1989. Wunderlich toured internationally as a concert organist. His performance of Bach's

Toccata and Fugue in D minor The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music written, according to its oldest extant sources, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The piece opens with a toccata section, followed by a fugue that ends in a coda. Schol ...

was reviewed by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

as "a performance of which

Stokowski Stokowski (feminine: Stokowska, plural: Stokowscy) is a Polish-language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anne K. Stokowski (1925–2020), American politician * Eugene E. Stokowski (1921–1979), American politician * Ferdynand ...

would not have been ashamed". Students from Europe, the US, and Japan came to Hamburg to study with him. After he retired, he turned more to composition. Wunderlich was also member of the Protestant St. Michael's Fraternity of the

Berneuchen Movement Berneuchen Movement (german: Berneuchener Bewegung) is part of the Lutheran Liturgical movement in Germany. It originates from German Youth Movement. The movement was born in 1920s, after the radical changes caused by World War I. The founders felt ...

. The last surviving pupil of

, he died in

Großhansdorf Großhansdorf is a municipality in the district of Stormarn, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 3 km east of Ahrensburg, and 25 km northeast of Hamburg. History Großhansdorf was first mentioned in 1274 in ...

Recordings

During his Hamburg period, Wunderlich recorded many works by Bach,

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

and

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

. His recordings of Reger's works are regarded as exemplary. Together with his second wife, the violinist , he recorded works for violin and organ by

Joseph Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liecht ...

, by Reger, and of his own composition.

Work

Wunderlich's works are held by the

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 ...

. His main work is the scenic

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

for Easter, ', composed in 1953. It is based on biblical narrations from Easter to Ascension, including elements from

Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

and Protestant hymns. * ''Kontrapunktische Chaconne'', 1938 * ''Präludium und Doppelfuge im alten Stil'', 1939 * ''Fuga Variata (Fantasie in Form einer Variationsfuge)'', 1942/1943 * ''Partita'' on "

Macht hoch die Tür "Macht hoch die Tür" (Fling wide the door) is a German popular Advent hymn, written in Ducal Prussia in the 17th century. The lyrics were written by Georg Weissel in 1623, for the inauguration of the Altroßgärter Kirche in Königsberg. The mel ...

", 1946 * ''Mixolydische Toccata'' on "

Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ "" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ") is a Lutheran hymn, written by Martin Luther in 1524. It was first published in 1524 in the . For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied) for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, ...

", 1947 * ''Drei Motetten'', 1956 * ''Orgelsonate über ein Thema'', 1956 * ''Sonata Tremolanda Hiroshima'', 1984 * ''Introduktion und Toccata über den Namen B-A-C-H'', 1988 * ''Invocatio "Dona nobis pacem"'', 1993 * ''Sonate über den Psalm Jona'', 1996 * ''Variationen Twelvetonata für Violine und Orgel'', 1998 * ''Emotionen und Fuge per Augmentationem et Diminutionem über ein gegebenes Thema von Johann Nepomuk David'', 2002

References

External links

*
Wunderlich,Heinz
Worlds of Music

St. Jacobi

Bach cantatas Website

walcker.com
Organist und Pädagoge Heinz Wunderlich ist tot
rp-online.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Wunderlich, Heinz German classical organists German male organists German composers University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni Musicians from Leipzig Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg faculty 1919 births 2012 deaths Kirchenmusikdirektor Male classical organists