WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
The WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, or West Germany Radio Choir of Cologne, is the house choir of the Westdeutsche Rundfunk or West German Radio network. The choir specializes in contemporary music and has a national and international reputation while still playing a strong role in the musical life of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region.
The current WDR Rundfunkchor Köln dates to 1947, when it was founded as the Kölner Rundfunkchor and began rehearsals at St. Agnes Church, one of the few intact rehearsal spaces in Cologne. Its predecessor was the Kammerchor des Kölner Senders, or Cologne Broadcasting Chamber Choir, which was founded in 1927 but dissolved in 1940. The Kölner Rundfunkchor was at first associated with the Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (Northwest German Radio) but took its present name when the WDR was formed in 1956. The choir had already begun to specialize in contemporary music, a fortunate choice since so many progressive German works had been banned by the Nazi regime. In 1954, the group performed in the premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's unfinished opera Moses und Aron. That was among the first of more than 150 premieres of new works by the WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, including such major compositions as Karlheinz Stockhausen's Momente (conducted by the composer), Iannis Xenakis' Nuits, and Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion. The choir sings a wide variety of repertory, however, and often performs standard works in churches around Cologne. The choir consists of 43 to 48 members. Conductors of the WDR Rundfunkchor Köln have included Bernhard Zimmermann, Herbert Schernus, Helmuth Froschauer, Anton Marik, Rupert Huber, and since 2014, Stefan Parkman, the group's first non-German director.
The WDR Rundfunkchor Köln is especially noted for its large catalog of recordings, appearing on CPO, Delta Classics, Capriccio, and other internationally distributed labels. The group's 2012 recording of György Ligeti's Requiem won Germany's coveted ECHO Klassik award. In 2017, the choir was heard on a recording of the Emmerich Kálmán operetta Die Bajadere. Several times the WDR Rundfunkchor Köln has performed at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, northern Germany's leading concert hall, and the group appeared there in 2020 in a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, as part of the hall's celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.
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Michael Gielen Edition, Vol. 3 - Brahms: Symphonies & Concertos
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Gerhard Oppitz, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Mark Kaplan, Michael Gielen, David GerIngas
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on Oct 14, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Complete Masses, Vol. 2
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 18, 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ding, Dong, Merrily on High. Classical Choral Music for Advent & Christmas
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Andrew Canning, WDR Kinderchor Dortmund, Stefan Parkman
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by CPO on Mar 23, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nostalgia
Daniel Behle, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, Helmut Froschauer, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
Opera - Released by CapriccioNR on Oct 6, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabin: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 29 & Symphony No. 4, Op. 54 "Le poème de l'extase"
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Dmitri Kitayenko
Classical - Released by Oehms Classics on Jan 22, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Requiem, Apparitions, San Francisco Polyphony
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Peter Eötvös
Classical - Released by BMC Records on Aug 17, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hausegger: Natursymphonie
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Ari Rasilainen
Classical - Released by CPO on May 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
STRAVINSKY: Symphony in 3 Movements / Symphony in C / Symphony of Psalms
SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Michael Gielen
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donatoni: In cauda, Portrait, & Duo pour Bruno
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Elisabeth Chojnacka, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Arturo Tamayo
Classical - Released by Stradivarius on Jul 14, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Ein Sommernachts-traum / Die Hebriden
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Miranda Van Kralingen, Hans Vonk, Iris Vermillion, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Aug 1, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie a-moll · Das Weib des Intaphernes
Cologne Radio Orchestra, Gert Westphal, Peter Dicke, Peter Gülke, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Apr 25, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gossec: Grande Messe des Morts
Eva Csapo, Hildegard Laurich, Alessandro Corbelli, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Cappella Coloniensis, Herbert Schernus
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Mar 16, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
NONO: Cori di Didone / Da un diario italiano / Das atmende Klarsein
SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Christoph Adt, Eva Furrer, Rupert Huber, Peter Bohm, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by SWR Classic on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy, C.: La Mer / Nocturnes / Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Gary Bertini
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lortzing: Die Himmelfahrt Jesu Christi
Classical - Released by CPO on Mar 18, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cherubini: Mass in A major - Chant sur la mort de Haydn
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Marilyn Schmiege, Cappella Coloniensis, Martyn Hill, Gabriele Ferro, Paolo Barbacini
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Mar 12, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reznicek: Der Sieger
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Beate Koepp, Michail Jurowski, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by CPO on Sep 21, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich, D.: Suite From Katerina Izmailova / 2 Fables of Krilov / The Execution of Stepan Razin
Stanislaw Sulejmanow, Tamara Sinjawskaja, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Michail Jurowski
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hosokawa: Tabi-bito, Sen VI & Die Lotosblume
Isao Nakamura, Rupert Huber, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Ken Takaseki
Classical - Released by Stradivarius on Jun 10, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: All-night Vigil, Op. 37 "Vespers"
Classical - Released by Carus on Dec 1, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Miracle of the Holy Night
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Mar 8, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo