Kai Bumann (16 August 1961 – 2 June 2022) was a German conductor who led orchestras and opera companies mainly in Poland, such as the Opera Krakowska,

Warsaw Chamber Opera The Warsaw Chamber Opera ( pl, Warszawska Opera Kameralna, WOK) is a Polish opera company founded in 1961 by Stefan Sutkowski, its managing and artistic director from its inception until his retirement in 2012. On 15 October 1986, the Warsaw Cham ...

and the

Polish Baltic Philharmonic Polish Baltic F. Chopin Philharmonic in Gdańsk (full name in Polish: ''Polska Filharmonia Bałtycka im. Fryderyka Chopina w Gdańsku'') is a concert hall located in Ołowianka, Gdańsk. History Polish Baltic F. Chopin Philharmonic was founde ...

. He was conductor and artistic director of the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra (SJSO) from 1998 until his death.

Career

Born in 1961 in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, Bumann studied at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

and first worked as

répétiteur A (from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. A feminine form, , also appears but is comparatively rare. Opera In opera, a is the person ...

, from 1986 at Theater Trier and from 1988 at

Theater Freiburg Theater Freiburg is a theatre in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Freiburg Theatre, sometimes also referred to as Stadttheater Freiburg (Freiburg municipal theatre), formerly Städtische Bühnen (Municipal Stages) Freiburg, is the oldest and bigg ...

. In 1989, he became the 1st Kapellmeister at the

Landestheater Detmold Landestheater Detmold is a theatre for operas, operettas, musicals, ballets, and stage plays in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It began as the Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater, founded in 1825 by the court of Lippe. The company ...

, where he was interim

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 ...

(GMD) the following season. He was in the same position at the

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden ('Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden') is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. Known also as the ...

in the 1996/97 season. In 1997, he became chief conductor of the Opera Krakowska. He first conducted at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

in 1998, followed by regular appearances until 2003. The same year, he also became conductor and artistic director of the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra (SJSO), a position he held until his death. In 2016 they performed at

Tonhalle St. Gallen Tonhalle St. Gallen is a concert hall in St. Gallen, Switzerland. It is a cultural centre, a venue for concerts, banquets and meetings. It is the home of the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra. History The concert hall was built between 1906 and 1909, ...

. He celebrated the orchestra's 50th anniversary in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a reduced group. In 2021, he led the orchestra in an event of the

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it current ...

, themed "Music for Future". They played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 and Beethoven's First Symphony, standing throughout, with well-balanced sound and dedication to detail. In April 2022 they were part of '' Through the Night's'' episode "Europe's Young Performers", ''a''

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

program. Bumann was musical director of the

from 2003 to 2013, beginning with Verdi's ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

''. They toured to France, Spain, and to Japan in 2004 and 2006. He was also chief conductor of the

from 2008 to 2012. From 2013, he was first guest conductor of the

Łódź Philharmonic The ''Arthur Rubinstein'' ''Łódź Philharmonic'' ( pl, Filharmonia Łódzka) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Łódź, Poland. It was founded in 1915 by composer and conductor Tadeusz Mazurkiewicz and Gotliba Teschnera, a cello instr ...

. Bumann was chief conductor of the two orchestras of the

Bromberg Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

Philharmonie from 2015, and also became professor of conducting at the in 2010. He was named Professor of Art by the Polish President,

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the ...

, in 2021. Bumann was a friend of many personalities in Polish cultural life, and conducted the world premiere of

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

's '' Lacrimosa No. 2'' for soprano, chorus and chamber orchestra, one of the composer's last works, on 6 October 2018. Bumann died on 2 June 2022 in a hospital in

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mount ...

of a heart attack, aged 60. He was buried in

Łopuszna Łopuszna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Targ, within Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately east of Nowy Targ and south of the regional capital Kraków. The village, ...

Awards and honors

* 1994: Second prize at the

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

* 2014:

Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

Recordings

* 2006: Bartók:

Viola Concerto A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Early examples of viola concertos include Telemann's concerto in G major and several concertos by Carl St ...

Peter Mieg Peter Mieg (5 September 1906 – 7 December 1990) was a Swiss composer, painter and journalist. Biography Mieg was born in Lenzburg where he spent almost all his life. He studied art history, archaeology, music history as well as French and ...

: ''Triple concerto dans le gôut italien'', Dvořák: Symphony No. 8; with Lea Boesch (viola), Schweizer Jugend-Sinfonie-Orchester * 2008: Feliks Janiewicz, Violin Concertos No. 3 and 5, with Zbigniew Pilch (violin), Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense, TAKT PMC 057 * 2016: Mahler, Ninth Symphony; Schweizer Jugend-Sinfonie-Orchester, live recording. * 2017: ''Przeboje 55-lecia'', works by

J. S. 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 wo ...

and W. A. Mozart, with Helena Bregar (soprano), Tomasz Gluska (trompet), Capella Bydgostiensis; DUX 1427Przeboje 55-lecia. Nowa płyta Capelli Bydgostiensis
tygodnikbydgoski.pl 2018

Writing

* *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bumann, Kai 1961 births 2022 deaths 20th-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German conductors (music) Musicians from Berlin Recipients of the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis