Heinz Hennig
Encyclopedia
Heinz Hennig was a German choral conductor and an academic, known for founding the Knabenchor Hannover in 1950 and leading it until 2001.
, Heinz Hennig was educated at the boarding school "Musisches Gymnasium" in Frankfurt
, namely by Kurt Thomas
. He studied in Hannover.
In 1950 he founded the Knabenchor Hannover. In 1961 he cofounded the youth orchestra "Junges Sinfonieorchester Hannover" (JSO). He prepared the boys choir for the recording of Bach cantata
s in a collaboration with Gustav Leonhardt
, published as "Das Kantatenwerk" by Teldec
. Hennig belonged to the first conductors pursuing historically informed performance
and revived neglected works of Heinrich Schütz
and Andreas Hammerschmidt
, among others. He conducted the choir in five Schütz recordings between 1982 and 1999, four of them won prizes such as the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
. He also premiered works of composers such as Alfred Koerppen, who wrote in 1951 a youth opera Virgilius, der Magier von Rom that the choir performed successfully at the "Sängerfest" in Frankfurt.
Heinz Hennig was a teacher for choral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover 1962 – 1992, serving as the institutes vice president since 1970. He also conducted its chamber choir.
He prepared the choir for collaborations with Ton Koopman
, Philippe Herreweghe
and the Hilliard Ensemble
. To celebrate 50 years Knabenchor Hannover in 2000, Heinz Hennig conducted Bach's St Matthew Passion in a collaboration with the Thomanerchor
prepared by Georg Christoph Biller
.
He died at Hannover in 2002.
Biography
Born at Burg bei MagdeburgBurg bei Magdeburg
Burg bei Magdeburg is a town of about 24,700 inhabitants on the Elbe-Havel-Canal in Germany, northeast of Magdeburg. It is situated around a former weir, the Sachsenschleusen...
, Heinz Hennig was educated at the boarding school "Musisches Gymnasium" in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, namely by Kurt Thomas
Kurt Thomas (composer)
Kurt Thomas was a German composer, conductor and music educator.He was born in Tönning and died in Bad Oeynhausen....
. He studied in Hannover.
In 1950 he founded the Knabenchor Hannover. In 1961 he cofounded the youth orchestra "Junges Sinfonieorchester Hannover" (JSO). He prepared the boys choir for the recording of Bach cantata
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
s in a collaboration with Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
, published as "Das Kantatenwerk" by Teldec
Teldec
The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. Hennig belonged to the first conductors pursuing historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
and revived neglected works of Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...
and Andreas Hammerschmidt
Andreas Hammerschmidt
Andreas Hammerschmidt , the "Orpheus of Zittau," was a German composer and organist, of Bohemian birth, of the early to middle Baroque era...
, among others. He conducted the choir in five Schütz recordings between 1982 and 1999, four of them won prizes such as the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
The Deutscher Schallplattenpreis was a prize that the Deutsche Phono-Akademie awarded from 1963 through 1992. Its successor is the ECHO prize....
. He also premiered works of composers such as Alfred Koerppen, who wrote in 1951 a youth opera Virgilius, der Magier von Rom that the choir performed successfully at the "Sängerfest" in Frankfurt.
Heinz Hennig was a teacher for choral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover 1962 – 1992, serving as the institutes vice president since 1970. He also conducted its chamber choir.
He prepared the choir for collaborations with Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
, Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
and the Hilliard Ensemble
Hilliard Ensemble
The Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. Founded in 1974, the group is named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard....
. To celebrate 50 years Knabenchor Hannover in 2000, Heinz Hennig conducted Bach's St Matthew Passion in a collaboration with the Thomanerchor
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
prepared by Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
.
He died at Hannover in 2002.
External links
- Heinz Hennig – a life devoted to music on the Knabenchor Hannover website (in German)
- Heinz Hennig on the website of Freundeskreis Knabenchor Hannover (in German)
- Knabenchor Hannover on the website of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, in German)
- Knabenchor Hannover on the website of treble, discography
- Entries for recordings by Heinz Hennig on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...