Otto Gerdes
Encyclopedia
Otto Gerdes was a German conductor
and record producer
.
He studied music at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
, including conducting with Hermann Abendroth
. He conducted opera in Berlin, Dresden, Koblenz, Leipzig, and Munich. He also conducted the radio orchestras of Baden-Baden and Cologne and led concerts with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
. In 1956 he became a record producer for Deutsche Grammophon
and later the label's artistic director. His conducting for that label began when he filled in for an ailing conductor, recording excerpts from the opera Eugene Onegin
.
He was dismissed at Deutsche Grammophon in the mid-1960s. The incident that led to his dismissal was recounted in Richard Osborne's 1998 biography of Herbert von Karajan
. Gerdes, fresh from a conducting assignment, addressed Karajan as one conductor to another with a "Herr Kollege" (my dear colleague).
Gerdes conducted several works for record including the Prelude to Act 1 of Wagner's Die Meistersinger, a complete Tannhäuser
(Dresden verseion) as well as Wagner's rarely recorded Symphony in C major. He also conducted a recording of the Brahms 4th Symphony.
Included in Gerde's awards as a producer was the Grammy Award
for production on the opera Wozzeck
conducted by Karl Böhm
(1966).
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
He studied music at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
Hochschule für Musik Köln
The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...
, including conducting with Hermann Abendroth
Hermann Abendroth
Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth was a German conductor.-Early life:Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, Germany, belonging to a family which had already produced other artistic figures of divers disciplines...
. He conducted opera in Berlin, Dresden, Koblenz, Leipzig, and Munich. He also conducted the radio orchestras of Baden-Baden and Cologne and led concerts with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden is an orchestra based in Dresden, Germany founded in 1548 by Kurfürst Moritz of Saxony. It is one of the world's oldest orchestras...
. In 1956 he became a record producer for Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
and later the label's artistic director. His conducting for that label began when he filled in for an ailing conductor, recording excerpts from the opera Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
.
He was dismissed at Deutsche Grammophon in the mid-1960s. The incident that led to his dismissal was recounted in Richard Osborne's 1998 biography of Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
. Gerdes, fresh from a conducting assignment, addressed Karajan as one conductor to another with a "Herr Kollege" (my dear colleague).
Gerdes conducted several works for record including the Prelude to Act 1 of Wagner's Die Meistersinger, a complete Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
(Dresden verseion) as well as Wagner's rarely recorded Symphony in C major. He also conducted a recording of the Brahms 4th Symphony.
Included in Gerde's awards as a producer was the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for production on the opera Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
conducted by Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
(1966).