Michael Gassmann

Michael Gassmann (* 1966 in Bonn ) is a German cultural manager, journalist, musicologist and organist.

Life

After high school and community service , Gassmann studied Catholic church music at the Cologne University of Music . After the A-exam in 1992, he studied organ in London with Nicolas Kynaston and Nigel Allcoat. He then studied musicology, art history and medieval Latin philology at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg . In 2000 he received his doctorate from Konrad Küster with a thesis on " Edward Elgar and the German symphonic tradition". From 1982 to 1991 he was organist in the parish church of St. Winfried in Bonn. From May 1993 to 2001 he was organist and choirmaster at the Liebfrauenkirche Freiburg-Günterstal. In 1997 he recorded all of Edward Elgar's organ works on CD. From 2001 to 2002 he was an editor in the features section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Since 2003 he has lived and worked as a freelance journalist (author for FAZ, Die Weltwoche , Die Zeit , WDR 3 , DLF , FonoForum, art magazine ART and others) and organist in Cologne. He has also written articles for the International Catholic magazine Communio and the magazine Musik und Kirche . In November 2007 Michael Gassmann became managing director of Musik Podium Stuttgart. Since October 2008 he has worked as a dramaturge at the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart and was responsible for the program planning of the Stuttgart Music Festival. At the beginning of 2010, as chief dramaturge and scientific director, he also took over the management of the musicological department of the Bach Academy and was editor of the series of the International Bach Academy Stuttgart. Michael Gassmann has been Head of Artistic Operations at the Heidelberg Spring International Music Festival since February 2015. In 2007 he became a member of the jury for the German Record Critics' Prize.

Web links

• Vita on schallplattenkritik.de
• http://www.heidelberger-fruehling.de/