Oliver Hilmes (born 1971 in Viersen, Germany) is a German author who has written several historical biographies. His study of Cosima Wagner, [1] the daughter of the 19th century composer Franz Liszt, and his biography of Alma Mahler, the Viennese-born composer, author, editor, and socialite, have been translated into English. His book about the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin was translated into numerous languages and received literary awards.
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He completed his doctorate with Christoph Kleßmann on the history of the twentieth century and has worked for the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation since 2002. As personal advisor to the artistic director Franz Xaver Ohnesorg, he was involved in the introduction of the Berliner Philharmoniker's education programme and the transformation of the orchestra into a foundation. Today he works for the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation as editor-in-chief of the Phil magazine and as curator for special projects.
Oliver Hilmes has written biographies of Alma Mahler-Werfel, Cosima Wagner, [2] [3] Franz Liszt and Bavarian King Ludwig II. [4] His book about the 1936 Berlin Olympics was selected as a Book of the Year by the Financial Times , [5] The Guardian , [6] and the Daily Mail . [7] Tilman Krause, the literary critic of the German daily newspaper Die Welt , wrote of him in 2007, "Er ist das Wunderkind unter den deutschen Biografen" ("He is the Wunderkind among German biographers"). [8]
Hilmes is on the board of the Karg-Elert Society, and between 1996 and 2013 was its executive director; the society promotes the study of the artistic and academic works of composer and music theoretician Sigfrid Karg-Elert. [9]
In 2016, Hilmes discovered the residency card of Richard Friedländer, a German Jew, in Berlin's residence archives, which affirms that Magda Goebbels was his biological daughter. [10]
Das Rheingold, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. It premiered as a single opera at the National Theatre of Munich on 22 September 1869, and received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 13 August 1876.
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.
Francesca Gaetana Cosima Wagner was the daughter of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt and Franco-German romantic author Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of the German composer Richard Wagner, and with him founded the Bayreuth Festival as a showcase for his stage works; after his death she devoted the rest of her life to the promotion of his music and philosophy. Commentators have recognised Cosima as the principal inspiration for Wagner's later works, particularly Parsifal.
Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930.
Cheryl Studer is an American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's foremost opera houses. Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated with lyric sopranos and coloratura sopranos, and, in her late stage, mezzo-sopranos. She is particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner.
Christian Thielemann is a German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden, and the designated Generalmusikdirektor of the Berlin State Opera.
Heinz Peter Longerich is a German professor of history and historian. He is regarded by Ian Kershaw, Richard Evans, Timothy Snyder, Mark Roseman and Richard Overy, as one of the leading German authorities on the Holocaust.
Wagner is a 1983 television miniseries on the life of Richard Wagner with Richard Burton in the title role. It was directed by Tony Palmer and written by Charles Wood. The film was later released on DVD as a ten-part miniseries.
Sabine Lepsius was a German portrait painter.
Marie ("Mimi") Baronessvon Schleinitz was an influential salonnière of the early German Reich in Berlin and one of the most important supporters of Richard Wagner.
Lothar Gall was a German historian known as "one of German liberalism's primary historians". He was a professor of history at Goethe University Frankfurt from 1975 until his retirement in 2005. His biography of Otto von Bismarck has been translated into English, French, Italian, and Japanese.
Eva Maria Chamberlain was the daughter of Richard Wagner and Cosima Wagner, and the wife of Houston Stewart Chamberlain. When she was born, her mother was still married to Hans von Bülow. Through her mother, she was also a granddaughter of Franz Liszt. With her siblings Isolde and Siegfried, Eva was brought up by a house teacher.
Isolde Josefa Ludovika Beidler was the first child of the composer Richard Wagner and his wife, who is generally known as Cosima Wagner.
Patrick Lange is a German conductor.
Martin Geck was a German musicologist. He taught at the Technical University of Dortmund. His publications concerned a number of major composers. Among the composers in whom he specialised was Johann Sebastian Bach.
Dr. Eckart Conze is a German historian, author, and professor of modern history at the University of Marburg in Hesse.
Ludwig Karpath was an Austrian musicologist.
Johannes Hans Bastiaan was a German violinist. He was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic for over 40 years. From 1945 to 1970, he served as primarius of the Bastiaan Quartet.
Rüdiger Schaper is a German writer, journalist and theatre critic.
Baroness Daniela von Bülow, nicknamed Loulou or Lusch, was a German pianist and costume designer.
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