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 a Viennese-born socialite, have been translated into English.
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 achieved prominence through his biographies of Alma Mahler-Werfel, Cosima Wagner, [2] [3] Franz Liszt and Bavarian King Ludwig II. [4]
Tilman Krause, the literary critic of the German daily newspaper “Die Welt” described him in 2007 as the “Wunderkind among the German biographers”. [5]
Oliver Hilmes is on the board (from 1996–2013 as executive director) of the Karg-Elert Society, which promotes the study of the artistic and academic works of composer and music theoretician Sigfrid Karg-Elert. [6]
In 2016 he discovered the residency card of Richard Friedländer, a German Jew, in Berlin's residence archives, which affirms that Magda Goebbels was his biological daughter. [7]
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, particularly "Winterreise" of which his recordings with accompanists Gerald Moore and Jörg Demus are still critically acclaimed half a century after their release.
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.
Harry Alfred Robert Kupfer was a German opera director and academic. A long-time director at the Komische Oper Berlin, he worked at major opera houses and at festivals internationally. Trained by Walter Felsenstein, he worked in the tradition of realistic directing. At the Bayreuth Festival, he staged Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer in 1978 and Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1988. At the Salzburg Festival, he directed the premiere of Penderecki's Die schwarze Maske in 1986 and Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss in 2014.
Christian Thielemann is a German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden, and the designated Generalmusikdirektor of the Berlin State Opera.
Nike Wagner is a German dramaturge, arts administrator and author. She directed the festival Kunstfest Weimar, and has been the director of the Beethovenfest from 2014. The daughter of Wieland Wagner, she is a great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner, and a great-great‑granddaughter of Franz Liszt. She devoted books to the Wagner family and its cultural and political influence.
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.
Sabine Lepsius was a German portrait painter.
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.
Lioba Braun is a German opera singer and academic teacher at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. Based at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, she has appeared mostly in mezzo-soprano parts at major opera houses and festivals. She became internationally known appearing as Brangäne at the Bayreuth Festival in 1994, and performed the soprano part of Isolde on stage first in 2012.
Isolde Josefa Ludovika Beidler was the first child of the composer Richard Wagner and his wife, who is generally known as Cosima Wagner.
Elisabeth Lindermeier was a German operatic soprano. A member of the Bavarian State Opera, she performed internationally, including at the Royal Opera House in London in the English premiere of Die Liebe der Danae by Richard Strauss. She appeared in recordings and films.
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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