Gerd Albrecht
Gerd Albrecht was a major conductor of the late 20th century. He was best known for his interpretations of late Romantic and 20th century German repertory.
Albrecht was born July 19, 1935, in Essen, Germany. His father, Hans Albrecht, was a noted musicologist. Albrecht sang in a choir in his teens and took up conducting at 16. In 1955, he enrolled at the Musikhochschule Hamburg, studying with Hans Brückner-Rüggeberg and also taking classes in musicology, philosophy, and art at Hamburg and Kiel Universities. He gravitated toward conducting after winning prizes in 1957 at the International Young Conductors Competition in Besançon, France, and at the Hilversum Conductors Competition the following year. Posts then began to come his way, first as a repetiteur at the Stuttgart State Opera, and then, in 1963, as principal conductor of the Mainz City Opera. Many of the posts from the first part of Albrecht's career were concerned with opera: he served as music director of the Bühnen Lübeck (1962-1966) and the Kassel Staatsoper (1966-1972), and then as principal conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, succeeding Lorin Maazel. In Kassel, he instituted a series of children's events; he would stress this activity for the rest of his career and even wrote a set of fairy tales for children.
In 1975, Albrecht took an additional position at the Tonhalle-Orchestra of Zurich, remaining there until 1980. In the 1980s, he worked frequently as a guest conductor, developing a reputation as a specialist in German and Central European music from the early 19th century to the contemporary era. In 1988, Albrecht was appointed music director of the Hamburg Staatsoper and the Philharmonisches Staatsoper Hamburg, remaining until 1997. Controversy attended Albrecht's tenure as principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic; he was the orchestra's first non-Czech director, and the orchestra was split between his backers and those of former conductor Jiří Bělohlávek. After taking criticism from Czech President Vaclav Havel, Albrecht resigned in 1996. He later held chief conducting posts at the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (1998-2007) and the Danish National Radio Symphony (2000-2004).
Albrecht had a heavy recording schedule beginning in the mid-1980s; in the year 1995 alone, he released 11 separate recordings. He recorded for many different labels, including Koch, Capriccio, and Wergo, often conducting difficult contemporary German works with a variety of orchestras. He remained active until the end of his life, on February 2, 2014, in Berlin, and several of his recordings were posthumously released.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Reger: Orchestral Songs
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg, Chor St. Michaelis Hamburg, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Erwin Schulhoff: Piano Concerto, Op. 11 & Der Bürger als Edelmann Suite
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Michael Rische, Israel Yinon, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
Chamber Music - Released by haenssler CLASSIC on 6 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zemlinsky: Sinfonietta, Op. 23, 6 Songs, Op. 13 & Der König Kandaules, Op. 26 (Excerpts)
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Petra Lang, Siegfried Lorenz, Susanna Mälkki, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on 3 Apr 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Weinberger: Overture to a Chivalrous Play, 6 Bohemian Songs & Dances & Passacaglia
Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Jorg Strodthoff, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on 6 May 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Triumphlied - Ave Maria - Nänie - Schicksalslied
Bo Skovhus, Danish National Choir, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Triumphlied, Ave Maria, Schicksalslied & Nänie
Gerd Albrecht, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Bo Skovhus, Danish National Symphony Choir
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janáček: Lachian Dances, Suite, Op. 3, Hospodine! & Otče náš
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504 "Prague"
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by EuroArts Music International on 28 Jul 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem)
Gerd Albrecht, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Inger Dam-Jensen, Bo Skovhus, Danish National Symphony Choir
Masses, Passions, Requiems - Released by Chandos on 1 May 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pettersson: Symphony No. 7
Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by CPO on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Dimitrij. Opera in 4 Acts, Op. 64
Czech Radio Chorus, Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic, Gerd Albrecht
Opera - Released by SUPRAPHON a.s. on 1 Nov 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ullmann: Musica Rediviva
Česká filharmonie, Erika Pluhar, Igor Ardasev, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofieff: Peter und der Wolf / Saint-Saëns: Der Karneval der Tiere
Boy Gobert, Sir Peter Ustinov, Münchener Kammerorchester, Gerd Albrecht, Karl Anton Rickenbacher
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Meyerbeer: Gli amori di Teolinda
Gerd Albrecht, Júlia Varady, Jorg Fadle, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Rias Kammerchor
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wellesz: Orchestral Works
Gerd Albrecht, Andrea Duka Löwenstein, Radio Symphonieorchester Wien
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ouvertures & Préludes
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zemlinsky, A. Von: Symphonische Gesange / 3 Ballet Pieces From Triumph Der Zeit / Der Konig Kandaules (Grundheber, Hamburg State Philharmonic, Albrech
Franz Grundheber, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by CapriccioNR on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pettersson: Symphony No. 8
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schulhoff: Landschaften, Op. 26, Menschheit, Op. 28 & Le Bourgeois gentilhomme
Doris Soffel, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Michael Rische, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Mar 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WORKS FOR CHORUS & ORCHESTRA
Danish National Choir, Anna Larsson, Stig Fogh Andersen, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Chandos on 1 Jun 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ullmann: Orchestral Works
Bussels Philharmonic, Gerd Albrecht
Classical - Released by Glossa on 26 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo