MDR Rundfunkchor

The origin of the later MDR Rundfunkchor was a choir called Leipziger Oratorienvereinigung (Leipzig oratorio association), The MDR Rundfunkchor has an extensive repertoire (a cappella, choral symphonic works, ensemble singing, secular and sacred music). In addition, it has appeared as a special ensemble for Neue Musik with numerous premieres and world premieres and others. Boris Blacher, Thomas Buchholz, Thomas Bürkholz, Alan Bush, Jean-Luc Darbellay, Paul Dessau, Paul-Heinz Dittrich, Hanns Eisler, Fritz Geißler, Sofia Gubaidulina, Hans Werner Henze, Günter Kochan, Marek Kopelent, Wilfried Krätzschmar, Ernst Hermann Meyer, Günter Neubert, Krzysztof Penderecki, Rudolf Wagner-Régeny, Gerhard Rosenfeld, Friedrich Schenker, Kurt Schwaen, Siegfried Thiele, Carlos Veerhoff and Udo Zimmermann. More than 200 sound carriers have been released so far. The choir performed at international festivals such as Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Dresden Music Festival, Salzburg Festival, The Proms in London, and the Wiener Festwochen, among others. In 2019, the choir participated in the opening concert of the Rheingau Musik Festival at Eberbach Abbey, singing Dvořák's Stabat Mater with the hr-Sinfonieorchester, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Conductors like Claudio Abbado, Karl Böhm, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Sir Neville Marriner, Riccardo Muti, Roger Norrington, Seiji Ozawa, Georges Prêtre, Sir Simon Rattle and Wolfgang Sawallisch have already conducted the orchestra. In addition to regular cooperation with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhausorchester, the choir has performed repeatedly with the Dresdner Staatskapelle, the Dresdner Philharmonie and the Staatskapelle Weimar. == Choir director ==

• Heinrich Werlé (1946) • Horst Karl Hessel (1947–1948) • Herbert Kegel (1949–1978) • Wolf-Dieter Hauschild (1978–1980) • Jörg-Peter Weigle (1980–1988) • Gert Frischmuth (1988–1998) • Howard Arman (1998–2013) • Risto Joost (2015–2019) • Philipp Ahmann (since 2020) == Recordings ==

A recording of MDR Rundfunkchor of Carl Heinrich Graun's Der Tod Jesu, with the MDR Sinfonieorchester conducted by Howard Arman, was awarded the Echo Klassik 2005 in the category best recording of the 17th/18th centuries. The choir recorded Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil twice, in 2000 conducted by Arman, and in 2016 conducted by Risto Joost. A reviewer noted: "Extremely well prepared MDR Rundfunkchor communicates an impeccable, focused sound and is unerringly responsive to the sacred text." == Awards ==

• 19??: Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Bronze • 19??: Grand Prix du Disque for Carl Orff's Trionfi • 1977: in Gold • 2005: ECHO Klassik (category: "Chorwerkeinspielung des 17./18. Jahrhunderts") for: Carl Heinrich Graun's Der Tod Jesu • 2017: International Classical Music Awards (category: Chormusik) for Geistliche Gesänge, motets by Bach and Max Reger, and Knut Nystedt's Immortal Bach • 2018: Diapason d'or für Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil == Literature ==

• Alain Pâris: Klassische Musik im 20. Jahrhundert: Instrumentalisten, Sänger, Dirigenten, Orchester, Chöre, second revised edition, dtv, Munich, 1997, , p. 919. == References ==