Helmut Winschermann

Helmut Winschermann was born in Mülheim an der Ruhr in 1920. He became an orchestral oboist with the Municipal Orchestra of Oberhausen after studying in Essen and Paris. From 1945 he was principal oboe with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra including in its period known as the Hessen Radio Symphony Orchestra.[1]

With the flautist Kurt Redel and harpsichordist Irmgard Lechner, he was a co-founder of the chamber music ensemble Collegium Pro Arte, later called the Collegium Instrumentale Detmold.

In 1956 he was appointed principal chair of the oboe department at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, having taught there since 1948.[1] His students include Hansjörg Schellenberger, Fumiaki Miyamoto, Ingo Goritzki, Günther Passin and Gernot Schmalfuß.

He recorded the Mozart Oboe Quartet in F Major (K.370) with the Kehr Trio issued in 1957 on Telefunken LGX 66065 in the UK.

He maintained a touring schedule as a soloist, and frequently collaborated with the Cappella Coloniensis, the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar under Karl Ristenpart, and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under Karl Münchinger.

Winschermann founded the instrumental ensemble Deutsche Bachsolisten in 1960, in order to provide historically informed performances of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his baroque contemporaries. He initially divided his time between playing the oboe and conducting the group, but later focussed on conducting solely.[1] Under his direction they have made a multitude of recordings and toured widely internationally. They are particularly popular in Japan, having visited there at least 14 times.[1]

In 2010 the group celebrated its 50th anniversary in a concert at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, with the 90-year-old Winschermann conducting his own orchestration of Bach's Goldberg Variations. He turned 100 in March 2020.[2]

In 1992 Helmut Winschermann was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London.[1]

In 2013 he won the Georg Philipp Telemann Prize of Magdeburg. He has twice been awarded the Edison Prize.

• Literature by and about Helmut Winschermann in the German National Library catalogue
• Helmut Winschermann (Conductor, Oboe) bach-cantatas