Heinz Dressel (23 June 1902 – June 1997) was a German conductor.
Life
Born in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
, Dressel studied in Cologne with
Hermann Abendroth
Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth (19 January 1883 – 29 May 1956) was a German conductor.
Early life
Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, the son of a bookseller. Several other members of the family were artists in diverse dis ...
, became Kapellmeister in
Plauen
Plauen (; Czech language, Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the larges ...
, and later in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
and General Music Director there in 1934. During the period of National Socialism, he conducted the 1934 premiere of
Hugo Distler
August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer.
Life and career
Born in Nuremberg, Distler at ...
's setting of the
Thingspiel ''Ewiges Deutschland'' by
Wolfram Brockmeier.
He was general music director in
Münster Symphony Orchestra from 1941/42 to 1951, then in Freiburg im Breisgau (1951-1956) and later in
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 ...
. Dressel was furthermore director of the
Folkwang University
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 ...
in Essen from 1956, taking over the conducting class, the orchestra and the opera department there himself (the opera department only until 1958). Dressel founded 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, ...
in 1958. From 1964 to 1968 he was president of the
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) ...
.
Dressel died in
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 ...
.
Honours
* 1969:
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 ...
* 1989:
Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia
The Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen) is a civil order of merit, of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia was founded on 11 March 1 ...
.
Verdienstordenträgerinnen und -träger seit 1986
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Further reading
* Bernd Haunfelder: ''Nordrhein-Westfalen-Land und Leute 1946-2006: ein biographisches Handbuch,'' Aschendorff Verlag, 2006, . page 129.
* ''Heinz Dressel'' In Karl Gustav Fellerer
Karl Gustav Fellerer (7 July 1902 – 7 January 1984) was a German musicologist. His works include more than 600 scientific publications on catholic church music, Italian music from 1600 to the beginning of the 20th century, and music history of t ...
(ed.): ''Rheinische Musiker. 5. Folge''. A. Volk, Cologne 1967,
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dressel, Heinz
German conductors (music)
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia
1902 births
1997 deaths
Musicians from Mainz