Heribert Beissel (27 March 1933 – 11 June 2021) was a German conductor. While based in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

for decades, as conductor at the

Bonn Opera Theater Bonn (also known as the Stadttheater Bonn) is the municipal theatre company of Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is an organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts. It operates several performance venu ...

and as founder and conductor of the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, he also held leading positions in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of ...

and

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

after the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

. His discography covers composers from

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 ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Life and career

Born in

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

, Beissel attended the Collegium Augustinianum Gaesdonck, a humanistic gymnasium. He studied piano and conducting at the

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

, conducting with

Günter Wand Günter Wand (7 January 1912, in Elberfeld, Germany – 14 February 2002, in Ulmiz near Bern, Switzerland) was a German orchestra conductor and composer. Wand studied in Wuppertal, Allenstein and Detmold. At the Cologne Conservatory, he was a co ...

and composition with Frank Martin. He began his conducting career as a repetiteur and soon

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 ...

at the

in 1955, where he remained until 1964. He founded the Chur Cölnisches Solistenensemble in 1958, dedicated to the music at the Bonn court of the Electors of Cologne. In 1968, he also founded the . Beissel was the chief conductor of the

Hamburger Symphoniker The Symphoniker Hamburg (''Hamburg Symphony Orchestra'') is a German orchestra based in Hamburg, Germany. Founded in 1957, it is one of the city's three largest orchestras. The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra in residence in the Laei ...

from 1971 to 1985. During this period, he also collaborated with the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...

and the

Hamburg Ballet The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, , established in 1978. The performances of the Hamb ...

directed by

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also inc ...

. He was conductor of the

Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen The Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen is a chamber orchestra historically formed mostly by students of the Folkwang University in Essen, Germany, and other in North Rhine-Westphalia, to prepare them for a future position in an orchestra; however, ...

at the

Folkwang Hochschule The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in E ...

from 1979 to 1984. In 1986, the Chur Cölnisches Orchester was expanded to the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn. After the

, he was chief conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle from 1991 to 1999, and was also the founder and conductor of the Landesjugendorchester Sachsen-Anhalt. From 2001 to 2006 he was

Generalmusikdirektor A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of the

Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester The Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt or ''BSOF'' is a symphony orchestra based in Frankfurt (Oder) in Germany. It is the orchestra of the state of Brandenburg. From 2007 to 2019 its leader has been Howard Griffiths. Since 2019 the o ...

. Heribert Beissel died on 11 June 2021 at age 88.

Recordings

Beissel and the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn recorded piano concertos by Mozart, No. 12 in

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

and No. 9 in

E Major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

, with soloist Ekaterina Litvintseva in 2013. They recorded the First Piano Concerto by Johannes Brahms live in 2017, with Ekaterina Litvintseva as the soloist.

Awards

* 1962: First prize conducting competition of

Deutscher Musikrat The Deutscher Musikrat (DMR, ''German Music Council''; ) is an umbrella organization for music associations and the 16 music councils of the German federal states.musikrat.deÜberblick über Organisationsstruktur des DMR(retrieved on 10 May 2019) ...

and the NDR in HanoverJohn L. Holmes: ''Conductors on Record.'' Greenwood Press, Westport 1982, , p. 55. * 1982:

Johannes Brahms Medal The Johannes Brahms Medal (german: Johannes-Brahms-Medaille, links=no) of Hamburg is a music award established in 1928, named after the composer Johannes Brahms who was born in Hamburg. The medal is given irregularly by the to artists who contri ...

of Hamburg with Hamburger Symphoniker * 1998:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 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 ...

* 2004: Kultursenator of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

* 2006: Honorary conductor of Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt * 2012:

Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt The Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt) is the highest award of the German State of Saxony-Anhalt. Established 23 May 2006, the order is presented by the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt. The tot ...

''Nachrichten''. In: ''Bonner General-Anzeiger'', 7 December 2012, p. 10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beissel, Heribert 1933 births 2021 deaths German male conductors (music) Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians People from Wesel