Bruno Kittel Born: May 26, 1870 - Entenbruch, near Posen, Germany
Died: March 10, 1948 - Wasserberg, near Cologne, Germany
The German violinist and conductor, Bruno Kittel, studied in Berlin and played in theatre orchestras there.
From 1901 to 1907 Bruno Kittel was conductor of the Royal Theater Orchestra in Brandenburg. He was also director of the Brandenburg Conservatory until 1914. In 1902 he established the Kittelsche Chor, which quickly developed into one of the finest choral societies of Europe, and with which he made many tours. He was director of the Stern Conservatory in Berlin from 1935 to 1945.
Karl Straube Born: January 6, 1873 - Berlin, Germany
Died: April 27, 1950 - Leipzig, Germany
The prominent German organist, choral conductor, and pedagogue, (Montegomery Rufus) Karl (Siegfried) Straube, was the son of a German father and an English mother. He studied the organ under Heinrich Reimann, and from 1894 to 1897 gave organ recitals all over Germany and elsewhere, arousing wide admiration for both the virtuosity and the musical quality of his playing. In 1897 he was appointed organist of Willibrode Dom at Wesel. In 1902 he went to Leipzig as organist of the Thomaskirche, a post he retained until 1918. In 1903 he became conductor of the Leipzig Bach Society, and in 1904 conducted the second German Bach Festival. In 1908 he conducted the Leipzig Bach Festival on the occasion of unveiling of Seffner’s Bach monument, and further Bach Festivals at Leipzig in 1911, 1914, 1920 and 1923 - this last one being held to commemorate the bi-centenary of J.S. Bach’s appointment as Thomaskantor.
Meanwhile, in 1907, Karl Straube had been appointed organ-teacher at the Leipzig Conservatorium, and was granted the title ‘Royal Professor’ in 1908. In 1918 he succeeded Gustav Schreck as Kantor of the Thomasschule, and in 1919 effected the merging of the Bach Society in the Gewandhauschor, of which he is a conductor. In 1925 he was the chief organiser of an important Händel Festival at Leipzig and conducted the greater part of it. Since his appointment as cantor in 1918, his duties have been so exacting and multifarious that he has almost given up playing the organ in public, but the general German opinion is that he is the finest organist that Germany has produced in recent generations. His repertory included all the best organ music, new and old, and his powers of improvisation are unrivalled. Max Reger met him in early years, and it is owing to his admiration for Straube’s playing that he produced most of his finest organ works. At one time, indeed, there was a kind of friendly warfare between them. Max Reger was determined that he would write works which could be defeat even Straube’s virtuosity, but after each onslaught Straube was left with the victory. As a conductor, whether of the Thomanerchor or Gewandhauschor, he has done an immense amount of admirable work, introducing music hitherto unknown in Germany - early Netherlands, Italian, and English church music, as well as modern choral works of different nationalities, including Vaughan Williams’ unaccompanied Mass in G minor; while his interpretation of accepted masterpieces such as J.S. Bach's Passion music and the B minor Mass (BWV 232) or Georg Frideric Handel’s oratorios was always masterly. His profound knowledge of music of all periods, coupled with his exceptionally wide general culture and his ever-fresh curiosity about anything that touches human affairs, made him one of the leading figures in the artistic and intellectual life of Germany.in the first half of the 20th century.
Günther Ramin Born: October 15, 1898 - Karlsruhe, Germany
Died: February 27, 1956 - Leipzig, Germany The son of a parson, the distinguished German organist, conductor, composer and pedagogue Günther (Werner Hans) Ramin was accepted at twelve years of age as pupil and chorister by the then Thomaskantor, Gustav Schreck. While never at ease with the classical grammar-school approach there, he nonetheless composed songs and pieces for the piano and for the organ, which were amazingly well appreciated by most of his teachers. Karl Straube, then organist at the Thomaskirche and Ramin’s organ teacher, arranged for him to leave the school at Easter 1914, at the age of fifteen-and-a-half, so that he might apply himself solely to the study of church music. Despite entry restrictions for West Germany citizens, during the last ten years of Ramin’s life the choir of the Thomaskirche achieved its greatest heights, especially during the Leipzig Trade Fair and during the Neue Bachgesellschaft Festivals in Leipzig. Peter Schreier recalls the 200th Bach Centenary celebrations: "The bi-centenary in 1950 saw the first performance given by the combined choirs of Kreuzkirche and the Thomaskirche – the B minor Mass (BWV 232). The event impressed itself indelibly on my memory… Just a boy at the time, I was enormously taken with the way Ramin drove us on during the performance, sometimes even stamping his foot. He had such a powerful aura, such a compelling presence, that we had no choice but to comply with his wishes.”
Ramin took two concert tours with his choristers – to Russia in 1953, and to South America in 1955. In February 1956, at the very pinnacle of his career, he suffered a sudden brain haemorrhage and died only a few days later. Albert Schweitzer wrote: "His death means a great loss to J.S. Bach scholarship… I admired him for the way in which he persisted in promoting the heritage of Bach and the choral tradition of the Leipzig Thomaskirche in the face of tremendous odds, and for the success of endeavours and the universal acknowledgement they assured.”
MOZART: Requiem Tilla Briem, Sopran
Gerda Freimuth, Alt
Walther Ludwig, Tenor
Fred Drissen, Baß
Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester Bruno Kittel Chor
Conductor: Bruno Kittel
Rec.: 1941/Berlin J.S. Bach: "Wir setzen uns mit Tranen nieder" (from St. Matthew Passion) Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester Bruno Kittel Chor
Conductor: Bruno Kittel Rec.: 1942/Berlin Brahms: In stiller Nacht Thomanerchor Leipzig Conductor: Carl Straube Rec.: 1930 Anonim: Christkindleins Wiegenlied Thomanerchor Leipzig Conductor: Günther Ramin
Rec.: 1940/Berlin
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