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, including: • 1984: 1st prize at the Hessian Choir Competition • 1985: 1st prize at the and special prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary work (
Lars Edlund's
Elegi) • 1990: 1st prize at the
BBC choir competition
Let the Peoples Sing 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.
Bachchor Mainz In 1986 Otto was appointed artistic director of the Bachchor Mainz. The choir was founded by
Diethard Hellmann and educated in the Leipzig Bach tradition since 1955, giving regular
Bach cantata services in the
Christuskirche which were broadcast. Otto added late romantic and
contemporary music to their repertoire, including Schmidt's
Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln,
Hanns Eisler's
Deutsche Sinfonie, Britten's
War Requiem, Müller-Hornbach's
Am Rande der Zeit and premieres by
Tilo Medek. They performed Bach's
Matthäus-Passion in
Mendelssohn's version and Bach's
Johannespassion in
Schumann's version in Mainz, and sang Bach's
Mass in B minor with
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. 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. Ralf Otto is connected with the
Südwestrundfunk and various production companies by extensive recording activities: • Mozart's
Requiem in the version completed by
Robert D. Levin, (
Julia Kleiter,
Gerhild Romberger,
Daniel Sans,
Klaus Mertens, L'arpa festante – NCA) •
Camille Saint-Saëns'
Noel – French Christmas Music of Romanticism, (Saturova, Pätzer,
Anke Vondung},
Hans Jörg Mammel, Boesch, L'arpa festante – Sony, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi) •
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach:
Cantatas, (
Dorothee Mields, Romberger,
Poplutz, Mertens, L'arpa festante – Carus & Accentus Leipzig) 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. Otto also presented works by
Heinrich von Herzogenberg. 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. The soloists in the Oratorio were Kleiter,
Katharina Magiera, Poplutz and
Thomas E. Bauer. A reviewer of the
Bayerischer Rundfunk noted precise diction and a transparent sound.
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.
Other commitments As a guest conductor Otto also worked with orchestras such as the
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the
Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, the
Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the
Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, the
Philharmonia Hungarica, the
Munich Radio Orchestra, the Munich Bach Orchestra and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic. From 1998 to 2000, he was chief conductor of the of
Hesse. In addition, Otto has worked regularly in the past with the
Münchener Bach-Chor and with the radio choirs
NDR Chor and
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, and has been invited to festivals including 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. == Awards ==