Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (15 April 1906, in Stuttgart – 1 April 1985, in Hamburg) was a German conductor. He began his career in Munich as an assistant to

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Germ ...

at the

Bavarian State Opera The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

. After several appointments in Essen, Dortmund, and Kiel, in 1934 he succeeded

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

as first Kapellmeister in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

. In 1937 he conducted a complete Beethoven cycle at the invitation of

Furtwängler Furtwängler is a German surname, originally meaning a person from Furtwangen. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Furtwängler (1853–1907), archaeologist and art historian * Maria Furtwängler (born 1966), physician and actress * P ...

. In 1938 he became director of the Hamburg Lehrergesangsverein and received an appointment at 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 ...

. In Hamburg he conducted over 700 concerts for schoolchildren. He frequently worked with 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 ...

and the

North German Radio Symphony Orchestra The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra (german: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester) is a German radio orchestra. Affiliated with the ''Norddeutscher Rundfunk'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Ge ...

. In 1943 he started teaching conducting at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg The Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg is one of the larger universities of music in Germany. It was founded 1950 as ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik'' (Public college of music) on the base of the former private acting school of Annem ...

where he was promoted to a full professorship in 1955. His grave is located in the Hamburg Waldfriedhof. He was known for his championing the works of Handel and he was considered an exceptional oratorio conductor. He also frequently appeared as a guest conductor in South America, conducting the first South American performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in Rio de Janeiro in 1969. Today, he is mainly known as the conductor of several commercial recordings of German operettas by Kurt Weill issued from 1956 to 1960 featuring

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is best ...

References

German male conductors (music) 1906 births 1985 deaths 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians {{Germany-conductor-stub