Wolfram Röhrig (5 October 1916 – 30 May 1998) was a German pianist, composer and conductor, who also worked under the alias Wolf Droysen. A

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

, he was the director of music departments of the broadcasters

Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting, public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ...

and Süddeutscher Rundfunk, responsible for light music and jazz. With the choir Nürnberg Lehrergesangverein from

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, he performed and recorded works such as Te Deum compositions by

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

and Heinrich Sutermeister, and Max Reger's '' Der 100. Psalm''.

Career

Born 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 ...

, from 1935 Röhrig studied piano, conducting and composition in Berlin. After World War II he worked as a

and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

. In 1953, he became director of the music department of the broadcaster

. He moved in 1955 to the Süddeutscher Rundfunk, where he directed ''Unterhaltungsmusik'', initiated the "Tage der Leichten Musik" (Days of light music) and was responsible for "Treffpunkt Jazz" (Meeting point jazz). He was from 1967 to 1996 president of the , and from 1969 also the vice president of its European organisation. As a conductor, he recorded with

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

(''Piece for Clarinet and Strings'') and

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

, including the albums '' Piece for Clarinet and String Orchestra/Mobiles'' and ''

Johnny Hodges and His Strings Play the Prettiest Gershwin ''Johnny Hodges and His Strings Play the Prettiest Gershwin'' is an album by saxophonist Johnny Hodges accompanied by an orchestra performing Gershwin tunes recorded in Stuttgart in 1958 for the Verve label.

''. He composed film scores for ''

Rommel Calls Cairo ''Rommel Calls Cairo'' (german: Rommel ruft Kairo) is a 1959 West German war thriller film directed by Wolfgang Schleif and starring Adrian Hoven, Elisabeth Müller and Peter van Eyck.Davidson & Hake p. 54 It is based on a real incident from the ...

'' (1959), ''

Foxhole in Cairo ''Foxhole in Cairo'' is a 1960 British war film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and based on a novel by Leonard Mosley itself based upon the real-life Operation Salaam. It starred James Robertson Justice, Adrian Hoven, Fenella Fielding and H ...

'' (1960) and ' (1961). He also wrote the music for the films of ''

Die Hesselbachs ''Die Hesselbachs'' is a German radio play series. The series started in 1949 and was adapted for television in 1960. There was also a film '' Die Familie Hesselbach'' (1954) and its sequels. The series deals with the experiences of the Hes ...

''. He was particularly interested in choral music, conducting performances and recordings with the Nürnberg Lehrergesangverein at the

Meistersingerhalle Meistersingerhalle is the municipal culture and congress centre of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is named after the tradition of the Meistersinger (Master singers) in the town, which Wagner reflected in his opera ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnber ...

in Nuremberg, with the

Nürnberger Symphoniker The Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (German: Nürnberger Symphoniker) is a German orchestra based in Nuremberg. Its principal concert venue is the Meistersingerhalle. The orchestra's current ''Intendant'' (managing and artistic director) is Lucius ...

. In 1972 he conducted Bruckner's Third Symphony and

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...

. In 1978, he recorded the Te Deum by

Heinrich Sutermeister Heinrich Sutermeister (12 August 1910 – 16 March 1995) was a Swiss composer, most famous for his opera ''Romeo und Julia''. Life and career Sutermeister was born in Feuerthalen. During the early 1930s he was a student at the Akademie der To ...

with soprano soloist Maria de Francesca-Cavazza. Also in the 1970s, he recorded Max Reger's '' Der 100. Psalm''. In 1982 he was awarded the ''Medaille für Verdienste um die deutsche Musik'' (Medal of merits for German music) from the . He received in 1983 the quadrennial Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Ring award from the

Verband Deutscher Konzertchöre The Verband Deutscher KonzertChöre (VDKC, Association of German Concert Choirs) is a national association with seven state organisations. It represents more than 550 member choirs with more than 30,400 singers. It is a non-profit organisation, whic ...

. He died in

Esslingen am Neckar Esslingen am Neckar ( Swabian: ''Esslenga am Neckor'') is a town in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, seat of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest town in the district. Within Baden-Württemberg it is t ...

Literature

Jürgen Wölfer Jürgen Wölfer (25 December 1944 – 24 July 2015) was a German music writer and historian with focus on Jazz. Life Born in Eisleben, Wölfer studied education, graduated with a diploma and worked for a long time in the record industry, where ...

: ''Jazz in Deutschland – Das Lexikon. Alle Musiker und Plattenfirmen von 1920 bis heute.'' Hannibal Verlag, Höfen 2008, .

References

External links

* * *
100. Psalm
flickr.com * Hans Kumpf
RIP: Wolfram Roehrig (Radio Stuttgart) died
groups.google.com

jazz-network.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohrig, Wolfram German jazz pianists German male conductors (music) German film score composers Musicians from Halle (Saale) 1916 births 1998 deaths 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century pianists German male film score composers 20th-century German male musicians German male jazz musicians Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany