Karl Münchinger
Karl Münchinger was one of those rare conductors whose careers are largely tied to their native city, in his case, Stuttgart. He was also closely identified with Bach, having conducted and recorded many of the Baroque master's compositions, generally with high critical praise. Münchinger also conducted much music from the Classical and Romantic periods and, to a lesser extent, from the twentieth century. The majority of his numerous recordings were made for the Decca label. Münchinger showed musical talent as a child and later began studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart. He then studied conducting at the Leipzig Conservatory under Hermann Abendroth. After graduation, he returned to Stuttgart and freelanced as a conductor while primarily supporting himself as an organist and choir director. In 1941, he accepted the post of conductor of the Hanover Symphony Orchestra. This would be the only major appointment in his career outside of his native Stuttgart. He held no post from 1943 until the end of the war. In summer 1945, he founded the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the ensemble he became identified with in much the way Karajan would be with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He quickly built the orchestra up from modest resources in the postwar era, so that by the late-'40s, they were making their first important tours abroad. Münchinger and the SCO debuted in Paris in 1949, representing the first German ensemble to appear there since the prewar era. That same year, they made successful tours of England and Spain. In 1952, they toured Central and South America. The conductor himself made his American debut in 1953 (San Francisco) and took the SCO back to the U.S. the following year for a successful concert tour there. He would return with his ensemble in 1977, once more receiving generally favorable response from both critics and the public. By the mid-'50s, Münchinger had established a reputation as one of the finest Bach interpreters in Europe. His admirers will assert that he was instrumental in restoring Baroque traditions to Bach interpretation, filtering out errant Romantic elements that had crept in over the years. Also by this time, Münchinger and the SCO were receiving invitations from throughout Europe, Russia, and Japan, and appeared in these various locales over the next couple of decades, scoring particular triumphs at the yearly festivals in Edinburgh, Salzburg, Prague (Prague Spring), and Colmar. In the recording studio, Münchinger was scoring triumphs a well: in 1964, he led the SCO in a recording of Bach's St. Matthew Passion with soloists Peter Pears, Hermann Prey, and Elly Ameling for the Decca label, that was awarded a Grand Prix du Disque. He made numerous other notable recordings of choral works by Bach, as well as the Brandenburg Concertos; symphonies by Beethoven and Mozart; and even music by twentieth century Swiss composer Frank Martin. Münchinger founded the Klassiches Philharmonie Stuttgart in 1966, an offshoot ensemble of the SCO, expanding the membership to 45 musicians in order to accommodate performing larger compositions. Münchinger and the SCO continued a fairly heavy performance and recording schedule in the 1970s and '80s, with many tours abroad. In 1977, they became the first German ensemble to visit the People's Republic of China. Münchinger retired in 1988 and died two years later.
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Haydn: Symphonies Nos.88 & 101
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Münchinger
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Classic Music, Vivaldi - Cello Concerto
Pierre Fournier, Karl Münchinger, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Oscardigital on 31 aug. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Moods - Classic And Meditation
Jörg Demus, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Klassiek - Released by Bob-Media on 1 jan. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Overtures (Mono Version)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Münchinger
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Serenade No. 7 "Haffner" (Mono Version)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Willi Boskovsky, Karl Münchinger
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Serenade "Haffner", K. 250 (Stereo Version)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Münchinger, Willi Boskovsky
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 83 & 100 (Stereo Version)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Münchinger
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 & Divertimento, K. 136 (Mono Version)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: A Little Night Music, Divertimento "Salzburg Symphony No. 1" & A Musical Joke (Mono Version)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphonie No. 45 "Les adieux" (Mono Version)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 (Mono Version)
Karl Münchinger, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Concertos brandebourgeois Nos. 3 & 5 (Mono Version)
Karl Münchinger, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Concerto Brandebourgeois No. 2 (Mono Version)
Karl Münchinger, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wassenaer: Concertino in F minor - Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3 (Mono Version)
Stuttgart das Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Les quatre saisons, Op. 8 (Mono Version)
Karl Münchinger, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concerto for 2 Pianos, K. 365 & Piano Concerto No. 17, K. 453
Monique Haas, Ina Marika, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Karl Münchinger, Hans Müller-Kray
Klassiek - Released by SWR Mediaservices GmbH on 2 feb. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Contemporary Music for Strings
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Klassiek - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 jan. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Musical Offering, Bwv 1079 (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Munchinger) (1955)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Kamermuziek - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Kleine Nachtmusik (Eine) / Divertimento, K. 136 / Telemann: Viola Concerto (Munchinger) (1951-1952)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Heinz Kirchner, Karl Münchinger
Klassiek - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6 (Munchinger) (1950)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger
Klassiek - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Archives: Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Kempff, Carl Schuricht, Karl Münchinger, Orchestre National de France
Klassiek - Released by Tahra on 11 nov. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo