The WDR Rundfunkchor Köln (West German Radio Choir Cologne) is the choir of the German broadcaster

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...

(WDR), based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. It was founded in 1947. The choir premiered works by

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

composers including Arnold Schoenberg's unfinished opera ''

Moses und Aron ''Moses und Aron'' (English: ''Moses and Aaron'') is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the music to the third act unfinished. The German libretto is by the composer. It is based on selected incidents from the Book of Exodus (chapters 3 ...

'' in 1954, Karlheinz Stockhausen's ''

Momente ''Momente'' (Moments) is a work by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, written between 1962 and 1969, scored for solo soprano, four mixed choirs, and thirteen instrumentalists (four trumpets, four trombones, three percussionists, and two e ...

'', Luigi Nono's '' Il canto sospeso'', Bernd Alois Zimmermann's ''

Requiem für einen jungen Dichter ' (''Requiem for a Young Poet'') is an extended composition by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, written from 1967 to 1969 for two speakers, soprano and baritone soloists, three choirs, jazz band, organ, tapes and a large orchestra. Subtitled ''Lingual'' ...

'' and Penderecki's '' St Luke Passion''.

History

A forerunner was a chamber choir, "Kammerchor des Kölner Senders", founded in 1927 for the "Reichssender Köln" that was dissolved in 1940. WDR Rundfunkchor Köln was founded in Cologne as ''Kölner Rundfunkchor'' (Cologne Radio Choir) in 1947. The first rehearsal was on 1 September in the hall of the church St. Agnes. Bernhard Zimmermann rehearsed Mozart's ''

Ave verum corpus is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century attri ...

''. The choir was at first the Cologne choir of the broadcaster

Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR; ''Northwest German Broadcasting'') was the organization responsible for public broadcasting in the German Federal States of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 22 September ...

(NWDR), while the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

choir was the NWDR Chor. When the broadcaster split in 1956 into NDR and WDR, the Kölner Rundfunkchor became the choir of the

Program

The choir of 45 singers has a repertory of

medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred music, sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the Dates of classical music eras, first and longest major era of Western class ...

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

, sacred music, oratorio, operetta, and music of computer games and film. The regularly perform cantatas and

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

works in churches of the region. A series ''Musik am Mittag'' (Music at noon) in the Minoritenkirche invites the audience to participate. The choir has been focused on contemporary music and has performed more than 150 premieres of new works, several of them commissioned by the WDR. The choir took part in pioneering projects, such as the concert premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's unfinished opera ''

'' in 1954. Karlheinz Stockhausen conducted in 1962 the first performance of his cantata ''

'' for soprano, four mixed choirs, and thirteen instrumentalists (four trumpets, four trombones, three percussionists, and two electric keyboards). Other premieres included

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

''Laudes'', Luigi Nono's '' Il canto sospeso'',

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

' '' Le Visage nuptial'', Bernd Alois Zimmermann's ''

'', Penderecki's '' St Luke Passion'',

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; , ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and enginee ...

' ''Nuits'',

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

's ''Coro'',

York Höller York Höller (; born 11 January 1944) is a German composer and professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. Biography Höller was born in Leverkusen. Between 1963 and 1970 he studied at the Cologne Musikhochschule: composition with ...

's ''Der ewige Tag'',

Péter Eötvös Péter Eötvös (, ; 2 January 194424 March 2024) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and academic teacher. After studies of composition in Budapest and Cologne, Eötvös composed film music in Hungary from 1962. He played with the Stockhaus ...

' ''IMA'' and

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

's ''Die Lotosblume''. The choir has performed internationally, for example in 2013 in Mahler's Second Symphony with choir and orchestra of the

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

conducted by

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian Conducting, conductor, best known for his interpretations of Gustav Mahler, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Strauss, and Russian composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, ...

at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus 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 curr ...

and

The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

. In Oktober 2013 the choir performed Schönberg's ''

Gurre-Lieder ' (''Songs of Gurre Castle, Gurre'') is a tripartite oratorio followed by a Melodrama, melodramatic epilogue for five vocal soloists, narrator, three choruses, and grand orchestra. The work, which is based on an early song cycle for soprano, te ...

'' with the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

conducted by

Sir Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British conductor with German citizenship. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Ratt ...

. In 2012, the WDR Rundfunkchor Köln was awarded the

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize ...

in the category best choral recording for

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

's ''Requiem''.

Choral directors

In its history, the choir had several chief conductors (''Chefdirigent''). Later the position of choral conductor (''Chorleiter'') was distinguished. They have been: * 1947–1962: Bernhard Zimmermann (previously held the same position in the choir of the original Westdeutsche Funkstunde, 1927–1933) * 1962–1989: Herbert Schernus * 1992–1998: Helmuth Froschauer * 2001–2004:

Anton Marik Anton Marik (born 1940) is an Austrian conductor who made a career with orchestras and choirs in Germany. Career Born in Vienna, Marik had been a member of the Vienna Boys' Choir and received his basic musical training there. After graduating ...

* 2004–2011: Rupert Huber * 2014–2020: Stefan Parkman * from 2020:

Nicolas Fink Nicolas Fink (born July 3, 1993) is an American competitive swimmer. He is a five-time world champion in breaststroke events and a 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist in the 100 meter breaststroke. He is a world record holder in the short course 4× ...

Recordings

* Mendelssohn: ''

Lobgesang ''Lobgesang'' (''Hymn of Praise''), Op. 52 ( MWV A 18), is an 11-movement "Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible for Soloists, Choir and Orchestra" by Felix Mendelssohn. After the composer's death it was published as his Symphony No. 2 i ...

'',

Andrew Manze Andrew Manze (born 14 January 1965) is a British conductor and violinist, noted for his interpretation of Baroque violin music. Biography Born in Beckenham in Kent, England, Manze read Classics at Clare College, Cambridge. He studied violin ...

, Anna Lucia Richter, Esther Dierkes, Robin Tritschler,

NDR Radiophilharmonie The NDR Radiophilharmonie is a German radio orchestra, affiliated with the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony. The orchestra principally gives concerts in the ''Großer Sendesaal'' of the '' Landesfunkhaus Niede ...

, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln. Pentatone PTC 5186639 (2018) *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

: ''Daphnis et Chloé'', conducted by Gustavo Gimeno, 2017 ( PENTATONE – PTC 5186652) * Eduard Künneke: ''Die lockende Flamme'', conducted by

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...

, 1994 (Capriccio – C5088) * Oscar Straus: ', conducted by Siegfried Köhler. (Capriccio – C10753) * Weill: '' Der Kuhhandel'' conducted by

Jan Latham-Koenig Jan Betrand Latham-Koenig, (born December 1953) is a British conductor and sex offender. He conducted all of the BBC ensembles, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He was appointed an OBE for services to Rus ...

, 1992 (Capriccio – C60013-1)Presto Classical:
Weill, K.: Kuhhandel (Der) (Opera) Capriccio: C60013-1
', retrieved am 12 November 2016.

References

External links