Ralf Otto

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'''Ralf Otto''' (born 1956 in [[Kassel]]) is a German [[Conducting|conductor]] and university teacher.

== Life and career ==

=== Vokalensemble Frankfurt ===
While still studying [[church music]] at the [[Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts|Musikhochschule Frankfurt]], Otto founded the Vokalensemble Frankfurt in 1981. With this [[chamber choir]], consisting of young, partly professional singers, who specialised in demanding and rarely performed works of all eras, Otto achieved international competition successes:

* 1984: 1st prize at the Hessian Choir Competition
* 1985: 1st prize at the and special prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary work ([[Lars Edlund]]'s ''Elegi'')
* 1988: 1st prize in the "[[Guido of Arezzo]] Choir Competition"
* 1990: 1st prize at the [[BBC]] choir competition "[[Let the Peoples Sing]]"

In addition to [[ancient music]] in [[historically informed performance]], Otto focused on [[New Music]]. He was a regular guest at the Frankfurt Feste with numerous premieres, presenting works by composers such as [[Olivier Messiaen]], [[Klaus Huber]], [[Iannis Xenakis]], [[Luciano Berio]], [[Brian Ferneyhough]], , [[Wolfgang Rihm]], [[Anton Webern]] and [[Michael Gielen]]. In addition, he collaborated with the [[Ensemble Modern]] and the [[London Sinfonietta]] Voices as well as with conductors [[Lothar Zagrosek]] and Gielen.

He has produced numerous radio and CD co-productions for the [[Hessischer Rundfunk]], including:
* [[Frank Martin (composer)|Frank Martin]]'s ''Messe'' & Reger's ''[[Der Mensch lebt und bestehet|Acht geistliche Gesänge]]'' (Beyer Records)
* Bach's ''[[Christmas Oratorio]]'', ([[Ruth Ziesak]], Groop, [[Christoph Prégardien]], [[Klaus Mertens]], [[Concerto Köln]] - Cappriccio, Delta Music)
* Monteverdi's ''[[Vespro della Beata Vergine]]'', (Bach, Fleckenstein, Schmitz, Prégardien, George, Mertens, Il Basso - Cappriccio, Delta Music)

=== Bachchor Mainz ===
In 1986 Otto was appointed artistic director of the . The choir was founded by [[Diethard Hellmann]] and educated in the Leipzig Bach tradition since 1955, giving regular [[Bach cantata]] services in the [[Christuskirche, Mainz|Christuskirche]] which were broadcast. Otto added late romantic and [[contemporary music]] to their repertoire, including Schmidt's ''[[Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln]]'', [[Hanns Eisler]]'s ''Deutsche Sinfonie'', Britten's ''[[War Requiem]]'', Müller-Hornbach's ''Am Rande der Zeit'' and premieres by [[Tilo Medek]]. They performed Bach's ''[[Matthäus-Passion]]'' in [[Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy|Mendelssohn]]'s version and Bach's ''[[Johannespassion]]'' in [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]]'s version in Mainz, and sang Bach's [[Mass in B minor]] with [[OVPP|one voice per part]].

According to the choir's motto, "historically informed, but interpreted in a contemporary manner", Otto has conducted the ensemble in subscription concerts, the regular cantata, and guest concerts abroad. Partners include the Bachorchester Mainz playing on historical instruments, the Munich Baroque orchestra [[L'arpa festante]] and the [[Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz]]. Tours led the choir with Otto to France, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and in the years 2003 and 2006 together with the on two concert tours organized by the ''Mozarteum Argentino'' to Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Ralf Otto is connected with the [[Südwestrundfunk]] and various production companies by extensive recording activities:

* Mozart's ''[[Requiem (Mozart)|Requiem]]'' in the version completed by [[Robert D. Levin]], ([[Julia Kleiter]], [[Gerhild Romberger]], [[Daniel Sans]], [[Klaus Mertens]], L'arpa festante - NCA)
* [[Camille Saint-Saëns]]' ''Noel - French Christmas Music of Romanticism'', (Saturova, Pätzer, [[Anke Vondung]]}, [[Hans Jörg Mammel]], Boesch, L'arpa festante - SONY, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)
* [[Wilhelm Friedemann Bach]]: ''Cantatas'', ([[Dorothee Mields]], Romberger, [[Georg Poplutz|Poplutz]], Mertens, L'arpa festante - Carus & Accentus Leipzig) With this world premiere recording of some long lost cantatas on CD resp. DVD for [[Carus-Verlag]] and [[ZDF]]/[[Arte]] from 2010, the ensemble from Mainz, conducted by Ralf Otto, made a significant contribution to the beginning renaissance of the works of the oldest Bach son.

=== Teaching ===
From 1990 to April 2006, Otto was professor of choral conducting at the [[Folkwang Hochschule]] in [[Essen]]; since then he has held the same position at the [[Hochschule für Musik Mainz]].

=== Other commitments ===
As a guest conductor Otto worked among others with the [[Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz]], the [[Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester]], the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the [[Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn]], the [[Philharmonia Hungarica]], the [[Munich Radio Orchestra]], the Munich Bach Orchestra and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic. From 1998 to 2000, he was chief conductor of the of [[Hesse]]. In addition, Otto has worked regularly in the past with the [[Münchener Bach-Chor]] and with the radio choirs [[NDR Chor]] and [[WDR Rundfunkchor Köln]], and has been engaged as a conductor at festivals including the [[Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival]], the Herbstliche Musiktage [[Bad Urach]], the [[Weilburger Schlosskonzerte]].

== Awards ==
Otto was awarded the , the highest award of [[Rhineland-Palatinate]], in 2011. In 2016, he received the Gutenberg medal, the highest cultural honour of Mainz.<ref>"Bachchor-Leiter Ralf Otto erhält Gutenberg-Plakette für seine Verdienste auf kulturellem Gebiet" (''[[Allgemeine Zeitung]]'' 18 April 2016) [http://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/nachrichten-mainz/bachchor-leiter-ralf-otto-erhaelt-gutenberg-plakette-fuer-seine-verdienste-auf-kulturellem-gebiet_16819051.htm]</ref>

== References ==


== External links ==
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* [http://bit.ly/2HRVhPZ Ralf Otto] Bachchor Mainz






[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Kassel]]
[[Category:German choral conductors]]
[[Category:German conductors (music)]]
[[Category:20th-century German musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century German musicians]]

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