THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 5, 2021 at 19:00 JST
Helmut Winschermann conducting in 2012 (Provided by Rikimaru Hotta)
Helmut Winschermann, the world-renowned German conductor and oboe player, has died. He was 100.
He was found dead on March 4 at his home in Bonn by a family member.
Throughout his long career, Winschermann conducted and was involved in many outstanding performances of Baroque classical music, including works by Bach.
Born in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany, in 1920, Winschermann played the oboe with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1960, he established the instrumental ensemble Deutsche Bachsolisten. He developed the group into one of the world’s top authorities on Bach pieces while serving as artistic director.
Winschermann also conducted orchestras around the world and mentored many famed oboeists, including Fumiaki Miyamoto from Japan.
Winschermann first arrived in Japan in 1962 and among the orchestras he performed with were the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2010, he performed Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Tokyo with other musicians to mark his 90th birthday. Two years later, he conducted Bach’s St. John Passion in Tokyo and Osaka.
He released more than 100 classical music recordings.
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