Ursula Zollenkopf

Last updated

Ursula Zollenkopf is a German classical contralto singer. A member of the NDR Chor based in Hamburg, she appeared as a soloist in opera and concert, including premieres of contemporary music such as Stravinsky's Threni and Schoenberg's Moses und Aron .

Contents

Career

Zollenkopf was a member of the choir of the German broadcaster Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR Chor, later the NDR Chor). [1] In the 1950s, she appeared in solo operatic parts with the choir and NWDR orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter. These included Lady Pamela in Auber's Fra Diavolo in 1954, alongside Wilma Lipp, Rudolf Schock and James Pease; [2] and in 1955 as Benjamin in Méhul's Joseph , with Libero de Luca in the title role. [3] [4] She performed as the alto soloist in a series of Bach cantatas, with members of the NDR Chor and the Hamburger Rundfunkorchester conducted by Max Thurn, for example the Easter cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, in 1957. [5] [6]

Zollenkopf appeared in the role of the mother in the premiere of Hans Werner Henze's radio opera Ein Landarzt in 1951. [7] She sang as a soloist and in the choir at the première of Arnold Schoenberg's unfinished opera Moses und Aron at the Musikhalle Hamburg on 12 March 1954. [8] Hans Rosbaud conducted the choirs and orchestra of the NWDR, with Hans Herbert Fiedler in the speaking role of Moses and Helmut Krebs as Aron. [8] [9] She appeared as a soloist and in choir in Stravinsky's Threni at the hall of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice on 23 September 1958, where the composer conducted the NDR Chor and the NDR Sinfonieorchester, with soloists Jeanne Deroubaix, Hugues Cuénod, Richard Robinson, Charles Scharbach and Robert Oliver. [10]

She appeared as a soloist in various choral concerts, such as Bach's Mass in B minor and Christmas Oratorio (1961), his St Matthew Passion (1967) and St John Passion (1968) in Bonn with the choir and chamber orchestra of the Bonner Bach Gemeinschaft (Bonn Bach society), conducted by Gustav Classens. [11] With the Itzehoer Konzertchor, she sang in Handel's Messiah , conducted by Otto Spreckelsen at St. Laurentii, Itzehoe, in 1963, among others. [12]

She participated in the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt in 1964, performing in Golem, subtitled Polemic for nine singers (1962) by Hans G. Helms, conducted by Fred Barth. [13] In 1959 she recorded the alto part of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Ingeborg Wenglor, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, and Theo Adam, choir of Radio Leipzig (now MDR Chor) and the Gewandhausorchester conducted by Franz Konwitschny. [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Moses und Aron</i> Unfinished German opera

Moses und Aron is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the third act unfinished. The German libretto is by the composer after the Book of Exodus. Hungarian composer Zoltán Kocsis completed the last act with Schoenberg's heirs' permission in 2010, but as of 2014 Moses und Aron was almost always performed as Schoenberg left it in 1932, with only two of the planned three acts completed.

The Arnold Schoenberg Choir is a Viennese/Austrian choir which was founded 1972 by Erwin Ortner, who is still its artistic director. The choir has a high reputation both among conductors and among critics and the musical scene in general. All members of the choir have broad experience and expertise in vocal music; most of them have graduated from or are currently studying at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. The choir is named after Viennese composer Arnold Schoenberg.

Bach cantata Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach

The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas, are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest cantatas date from 1707, the year he moved to Mühlhausen, although he may have begun composing them at his previous post in Arnstadt. Most of Bach's church cantatas date from his first years as Thomaskantor and director of church music in Leipzig, a position which he took up in 1723.

Andreas Karasiak is a German classical tenor in opera and concert.

Ingeborg Reichelt is a German soprano singer known for her interpretation of works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Ursula Buckel was a German soprano singer, known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Günter Reich, also spelled Günther Reich and Gunther Reich, was an Israeli baritone of German birth. He was a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart for more than 20 years and is known for interpreting the works of Arnold Schoenberg in collaboration with Michael Gielen and Pierre Boulez.

Ulrich Cordes German tenor

Ulrich Cordes is a German tenor.

Marie-Louise Gilles is a German mezzo-soprano in opera and concert, a professor of voice, and an opera stage director.

NDR Chor German choir

The NDR Chor is the choir of the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), based in Hamburg. It was founded in 1946, with Max Thurn as the first director of then 55 singers. The group has participated in premieres of contemporary music, such as the posthumous concert premiere of Schoenberg's opera Moses und Aron. It is also known for a capella music, introduced by Helmut Franz such as a recording of all such works by Johannes Brahms. The current artistic director is Philipp Ahmann, who has held the position from 2008. NDR Chor, now a group of 28 singers, is one of the leading professional chamber choirs in Germany.

Jeanne Deroubaix is a Belgian mezzo-soprano, focused on concert performances of early music and contemporary music. She premiered music by Igor Stravinsky and collaborated with Pierre Boulez, first performing and recording his Le marteau sans maître.

Max Thurn was a German conductor who was known particularly for his work as a choral conductor. He was the director of the choir of the Hamburgische Staatsoper and of the NDR Chor, and was a co-founder of the boys' choir of the broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR).

The EuropaChorAkademie is a German mixed choir, founded by Joshard Daus in 1997 as a group formed by students of two music universities, the University of Mainz and the University of the Arts Bremen. They have performed internationally and recorded choral works including Mahler's Second Symphony and Schönberg's Moses und Aron.

Maria Friesenhausen was a German classical soprano who appeared in Europe. She is known for recordings of Baroque music on record and with broadcasters. She was also a professor of voice at the University of Dortmund.

The WDR Rundfunkchor Köln is the choir of the German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), based in Cologne. It was founded in 1947. The choir premiered works by contemporary composers including Arnold Schoenberg's unfinished opera Moses und Aron in 1954, Karlheinz Stockhausen's Momente, Luigi Nono's Il canto sospeso, Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Requiem für einen jungen Dichter and Penderecki's St Luke Passion.

Johannes Hill German opera singer

Johannes Hill is a German baritone in concert and in oratorios, who has performed internationally. Singing in choirs from age 10, he has performed major roles in oratorios, such as both Jesus and Pilate in Bach's Passions, and Pope Francis in the premiere of Laudato si'. He has also performed in vocal ensembles such as Kammerchor Stuttgart and Collegium Vocale Gent.

Ralf Otto German conductor (born 1956)

Ralf Otto is a German conductor, especially known as a choral conductor and academic teacher. He founded the Vokalensemble Frankfurt, focused on contemporary music and winning competitions including Let the Peoples Sing. Since 1986, he has been director of the Bachchor Mainz, with a tradition of performing Bach cantatas in broadcast church services. He added late romantic and contemporary works to their repertoire and made international tours with them. They made world premiere recordings of some cantatas by Bach's oldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, among other recordings. Otto was professor of choral conducting at the Folkwang Hochschule from 1990 to 2006, when he took the same position at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz.

Wiebke Lehmkuhl is a German contralto in opera and concert who has appeared at international leading opera houses and festivals, including as Wagner's Magdalene at the Bayreuth Festival, as Erda in Paris, and as Annina at the Salzburg Festival. She was the alto soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the 2017 opening of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

Gustav Classens was a German conductor who shaped musical life in Bonn. He was municipal music director and conductor of the Beethoven Orchester Bonn from 1933 to 1949, continuing concerts during World War II and reviving them after the war. He was then for decades conductor of the choir Chor der Bonner Bach-Gemeinschaft that he founded.

Anne Bierwirth is a German contralto, focused on concerts and recordings of sacred music, appearing internationally. Besides the standard repertoire such as Bach's Christmas Oratorio, she has explored rarely performed Baroque music such as Bach's St Mark Passion and Reinhard Keiser's Passion oratorio Der blutige und sterbende Christus.

References

  1. ↑ Schnakenberg, Günter (2014). "Chronik des Chores / Die ersten 25 Jahre" (in German). Schubertchor Achim. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Letellier, Robert Ignatius (2010). Daniel-François-Esprit Auber: The Man and His Music. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN   9781443825979.
  3. ↑ Steiger, Karsten (2008). Opern-Diskographie: Verzeichnis aller Audio- und Video-Gesamtaufnahmen. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 20, 264. ISBN   9783110955965.
  4. ↑ Zimmermann, Christoph (2013). "Vernachlässigtes Genre" (in German). theaterpur.net. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Ursula Zollenkopf (Contralto)". Bach-Cantatas. 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  6. ↑ "Cantata BWV 66 / Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen". Bach-Cantatas. 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  7. ↑ Hans Werner Henze Stiftung. "Ein Landarzt – Funkoper (Ausschnitt)". Retrieved 20 July 2022 (in German).
  8. 1 2 "Moses und Aron (Oper in drei Akten) [Moses und Aron. Opera in Three Acts]". Belmont Publishers. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Arnold Schoenberg: Moses und Aron (1923–1937)" (work details) (in French and English). IRCAM.
  10. ↑ "Stravinsky, Igor: Threni: id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae (1958) 35' / for soprano, alto, 2 tenor and 2 bass soloists, chorus, and orchestra". Boosey & Hawkes . Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  11. ↑ "Konzertliste der Bonner Bach-Gemeinschaft / ab 2012 Bach-Chor Bonn" (PDF) (in German). Bach-Chor Bonn. 2016. pp. 7, 8, 10. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Konzertchronik" (in German). Itzehoer Konzertchor. 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Grassl, Markus; Kapp, Reinhard, eds. (1996). Darmstadt-Gespräche: die Internationalen Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Wien (in German). Vienna: Böhlau Verlag. pp. 533–534. ISBN   9783205984887.
  14. ↑ "Ursula Zollenkopf" (in French). BnF . Retrieved 20 July 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.