Volker Wangenheim was a German conductor, composer and academic teacher.
12 Facts About Volker Wangenheim
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Volker Wangenheim was conductor of the orchestra in Bonn from 1957, shaping the orchestra and opening the new concert hall Beethovenhalle in 1959 after which the orchestra was named from 1963.
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Volker Wangenheim was co-founder and conductor of the Bundesjugendorchester, and professor at the Musikhochschule Koln.
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Volker Wangenheim made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic on 22 June 1954.
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In 1957, Volker Wangenheim became conductor of the Stadtisches Orchester in Bonn, the provisional capital of Germany.
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Volker Wangenheim conducted the concert for its opening in 1959, when the new hall was regarded as the best concert hall in Germany.
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Volker Wangenheim was officially Generalmusikdirektor in Bonn from 1963, when the orchestra was renamed to Orchester der Beethovenhalle.
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Volker Wangenheim conducted the world premiere of Stockhausen's Fresco fur vier Orchestergruppen on 15 November 1969.
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Volker Wangenheim retired from the post in 1978, having built the orchestra in quality and size, to then 99 players.
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Volker Wangenheim was a member of the board of the Deutscher Musikrat from 1972 to 1980, and then an honorary member.
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Volker Wangenheim's main focus was on compositions of sacred choral music without instrumental accompaniment and in Latin, which he was inspired to do in his Berlin youth while listening to Gregorian chants in a Catholic church.
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Volker Wangenheim contributed the choral setting of the Easter hymn "Das ist der Tag, den Gott gemacht" to the 2013 edition of the Gotteslob hymnal.