Hermann Hildebrandt

This article deals with the conductor Hermann Hildebrandt. For other people see Hermann Hildebrand .

Hermann Hildebrandt (* 1910 in Strasbourg , Alsace , † 1982 in Ingelheim am Rhein ) was a German conductor .

As chief conductor of several orchestras, Hermann Hildebrandt has made significant contributions to music history. Grown up in Frankfurt am Main , he studied in Berlin and Cologne (among others with Hermann Abendroth ). His state exams were followed by a brief period of educational activity until he was called up for military service (1940).

After his release from American captivity , he was able to begin his actual professional development in Heidelberg in 1945 and soon afterwards became chief conductor of the Philharmonic in Stuttgart .

The film composer Herbert Trantow drew the attention of the East Berlin magistrate to Hildebrandt: they were looking for a chief conductor for the “ Städtische Berliner Sinfonieorchester ” (later BSO). The orchestra was ultimately a re-establishment that was pursued and enforced by the magistrate with the aim of gaining a highly qualified orchestra in the eastern part of the city - regardless of whether it was linked to an opera house. After a concert in November 1951, the orchestra members voted for Hildebrandt, and the magistrate appointed him as the orchestra's first chief conductor. Hildebrandt's abilities as an orchestra teacher and conductor did justice to the difficult dual task of building a new orchestra and developing a newly awakening audience in the best possible way. Reviews from this period attest to the orchestra's growing charisma. His programming ranged from Bach to Stravinsky , but also manifested itself in large-scale cycles of Beethoven , Brahms and Bruckner symphonies .

The reviews of this time, however, also soon show the growing “culture war” between East and West. While Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt ( FAZ ) expressly praises the program and interpretations of a concert in March 1959 (“gratifying testimony to the independent will of the conductor”), Karl Schönewolf ( Music and Society ) accuses him in a review of the same concert of being “one-sided ... to the west ”.

Since Hildebrandt, as a West Berlin citizen, was not ready to move his residence to East Berlin, negotiations about the extension of his contract failed in 1959. His farewell concert in 1959 contained the same program as the inaugural concert years before: Bach's 4th Brandenburg Concerto and Bruckner's 8th Symphony . (see Die Welt June 24/25, 1959)

The sketch of the following life stages is taken from his self-written curriculum vitae:

“When the political realities of Berlin's activities ended, Hildebrandt took over as General Music Director of the Northwest German Philharmonic Herford. From here he was appointed chief conductor and consultant for the musical program of the Second German Television in 1962 . Responsibilities: symphonic productions, television operas , public concerts. …
His successful series 'How beautiful is music' - a television concert on which he commented and conducted - was an essential part of the ZDF music program for years. As a guest he conducted a number of important orchestras: u. a. the Berlin Philharmonic , the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra , the Munich Philharmonic , the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra (recording with Anneliese Rothenberger ), the Bamberg Symphony , the Dresden Philharmonic , the Vienna Symphony ... "

Hermann Hildebrandt has been committed to the practice-oriented and contemporary training of young conductors and, above all, has demanded further support for young conductors after they have graduated from university. The Hermann Hildebrandt Foundation, founded in Mainz in 1990 by his daughter Regine Hildebrandt, is committed to this idea.

Web links

• Literature by and about Hermann Hildebrandt in the catalog of the German National Library