Ralf Otto

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Ralf Otto
Born1956 (age 67–68)
Kassel, Hesse, Germany
EducationMusikhochschule Frankfurt
Occupations
  • Choral conductor
  • Academic teacher
Organizations

Ralf Otto (born 1956) is a German

Folkwang Hochschule from 1990 to 2006, when he took the same position at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz
.

Life and career

Vokalensemble Frankfurt

Otto was born in Kassel. While still studying church music at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt, Otto founded the Vokalensemble Frankfurt in 1981. With this chamber choir, consisting of young, partly professional singers, who specialised in demanding and rarely performed works of all eras, Otto achieved international competition successes,[1] including:

In addition to ancient music in historically informed performance, Otto has focused on contemporary music. He was a regular guest at the Frankfurt Feste with numerous premieres, presenting works by composers such as Olivier Messiaen, Klaus Huber, Iannis Xenakis, Luciano Berio, Brian Ferneyhough, Gerhard Müller-Hornbach, Wolfgang Rihm, Anton Webern and Michael Gielen. In addition, he collaborated with the Ensemble Modern and the London Sinfonietta Voices as well as with conductors Lothar Zagrosek and Gielen.

He has produced numerous radio and CD co-productions for the Hessischer Rundfunk, including in 1991 Bach's Christmas Oratorio, with Concerto Köln and soloists Ruth Ziesak, Monica Groop, Christoph Prégardien, Klaus Mertens.[3]

Bachchor Mainz

In 1986 Otto was appointed artistic director of the Bachchor Mainz.

one voice per part. He has also conducted works by composers such as Luigi Dallapiccola, Arnold Schoenberg, and Luigi Nono (La victoire de Guernica), and by contemporary composers.[2][4]

Otto has conducted the ensemble in subscription concerts, in the regular cantata services, and in guest concerts abroad. Partners include the Bachorchester Mainz playing on historical instruments, the Munich Baroque orchestra L'arpa festante and the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. Tours led the choir with Otto to France, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and in the years 2003 and 2006 together with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie on two concert tours organized by the Mozarteum Argentino to Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.[4]

Ralf Otto is connected with the Südwestrundfunk and various production companies by extensive recording activities:

With the world premiere recordings of some cantatas by Bach's eldest son, the ensemble contributed to the beginning of the renaissance of his works.[5] Otto also presented works by Heinrich von Herzogenberg.[4] In 2018, they recorded Bach's St John Passion and his Christmas Oratorio with the Bachorchester Mainz. The soloists in the Passion were Georg Poplutz as the Evangelist, Yorck Speer as the vox Christi, Julia Kleiter, Gerhild Romberger, Daniel Sans and Matthias Winckler.[6] The soloists in the Oratorio were Kleiter, Katharina Magiera, Poplutz and Thomas E. Bauer.[3] A reviewer of the Bayerischer Rundfunk noted precise diction and a transparent sound.[7]

Teaching

Otto was professor of choral conducting at the

Folkwang Hochschule in Essen from 1990 to 2006; since then he has held the same position at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz.[2]

Other commitments

As a guest conductor Otto also worked with orchestras such as the

Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Herbstliche Musiktage Bad Urach, and the Weilburger Schlosskonzerte. He conducted performances at festivals such as Rheingau Musik Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, among others.[4]

Awards

Otto was awarded the Peter-Cornelius-Plakette [de], the highest award of Rhineland-Palatinate, in 2011. In 2016, he received the Gutenberg Medal, the highest cultural honour of Mainz.[1][4][8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Rede des Oberbürgermeisters zur Verleihung der Gutenberg-Plakette an Prof. Ralf Otto, Leiter Bachchor Mainz" (in German). Mainz. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Wolff, Geert (2016). "Ralf Otto seit 30 Jahren künstlerischer Leiter des Mainzer Bachchors / Werkauswahl und CD-Produktionen setzen starke Akzente" (in German). Main -Spitze. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Waltenberger, Ingobert (23 November 2018). "CD Bach: Weihnachtsoratorium – Bachchor und Bachorchester Mainz; Ralf Otto – Naxos" (in German). Online Merker. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Ralf Otto" (in German). Hochschule für Musik Mainz. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  5. ^ Clements, Dominy (March 2011). "Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710–1784) / Cantatas 1 / Cantatas 2". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  6. ^ Quantrill, Peter (May 2019). "JS Bach St John Passion (Otto)". Gramophone. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  7. ^ Keller, Matthias (1 December 2018). "CD – Johann Sebastian Bach / "Weihnachtsoratorium"" (in German). BR. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Bachchor-Leiter Ralf Otto erhält Gutenberg-Plakette für seine Verdienste auf kulturellem Gebiet" (Allgemeine Zeitung 18 April 2016) [1]

External links

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