Kurt Equiluz
Encyclopedia
Kurt Equiluz is an Austrian
classical tenor
in opera and concert, known for recording works of Johann Sebastian Bach
with Nikolaus Harnoncourt
and Helmuth Rilling
, a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983.
In 1957 he appeared in his first solo role at the Wiener Staatsoper
as Pedrillo in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail
and was a member of the house until 1983, performing 69 different roles of the Spieltenor repertory, such as Jaquino in Beethoven's Fidelio
or Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos
. He appeared at the Salzburger Festspiele
in the premiere of Rolf Liebermann
's Penelope (1954), in Frank Martin
's Mystère de la Nativité (1960) and in the premiere of Rudolf Wagner-Régeny
's Das Bergwerk zu Falun (1961).
Kurt Equiluz became known for his interpretation of Bach's cantatas
and oratorios when was engaged in the recordings of Nikolaus Harnoncourt covering the complete vocal works with historical instruments. He was the Evangelist
in the first recording
of Bach's St John Passion on period instruments with the Concentus Musicus Wien
in 1965 and in 1970 the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion. In 1977 he was the Evangelist in a recording of the St Matthew Passion with De Nederlandse Bachvereniging
, conducted by Charles de Wolff, with Max van Egmond
as the Vox Christi
. He recorded the St John Passion, the St Matthew Passion and the Christmas Oratorio
also with Michel Corboz
. He recorded Bach cantatas also with the Gächinger Kantorei
and Helmuth Rilling
. With Harnoncourt he recorded works of Claudio Monteverdi
, such as his operas L'Orfeo, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
, L'incoronazione di Poppea
or the Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610. He recorded sacred music of the classical period with the Vienna Choir boys, such as Mozart's Missa solemnis in C minor, K. 139 "Waisenhausmesse", his Coronation Mass, Haydn's Theresienmesse or Franz Schubert
's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major, D 950.
Kurt Equiluz started teaching in 1964, was appointed professor of the Musikhochschule of Graz
in 1971, and of the Wiener Musikakademie in 1982.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
classical tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
in opera and concert, known for recording works of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
with Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
and Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
, a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983.
Professional career
Kurt Equiluz was an alto soloist of the Wiener Sängerknaben. At the Austrian State Academy for Music and Art in Vienna he studied music theory, harp and singing with Adolf Vogel. He was a member of the "Akademie-Kammerchor" since 1945.In 1957 he appeared in his first solo role at the Wiener Staatsoper
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
as Pedrillo in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
and was a member of the house until 1983, performing 69 different roles of the Spieltenor repertory, such as Jaquino in Beethoven's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
or Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
. He appeared at the Salzburger Festspiele
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
in the premiere of Rolf Liebermann
Rolf Liebermann
Rolf Liebermann , was a Swiss composer and music administrator born in Zurich, and associated with several different musical genres. His output included chansons, classical, and light music. His classical music often combines myriad styles and techniques, including those drawn from baroque,...
's Penelope (1954), in Frank Martin
Frank Martin (composer)
Frank Martin was a Swiss composer, who lived a large part of his life in the Netherlands.-Childhood and youth:...
's Mystère de la Nativité (1960) and in the premiere of Rudolf Wagner-Régeny
Rudolf Wagner-Régeny
Rudolf Wagner-Régeny was a composer, conductor, and pianist. Born in Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary, since 1920 Romania, he became a German citizen in 1930, and then East Germany after 1945.From 1919–1920 he studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and then at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik from...
's Das Bergwerk zu Falun (1961).
Kurt Equiluz became known for his interpretation of Bach's cantatas
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
and oratorios when was engaged in the recordings of Nikolaus Harnoncourt covering the complete vocal works with historical instruments. He was the Evangelist
Evangelist (Bach)
The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
in the first recording
St John Passion discography
Recordings of the St John Passion are shown as a list of selected recordings of the St John Passion, BWV 245, of Johann Sebastian Bach, grouped for "modern instruments" and "period instruments", a movement started by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, among others. Both groups now aim at historically informed...
of Bach's St John Passion on period instruments with the Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien is a baroque music ensemble founded by Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt in 1953. It generated the now well-established movement in performance and recordings to play early music on period instruments....
in 1965 and in 1970 the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion. In 1977 he was the Evangelist in a recording of the St Matthew Passion with De Nederlandse Bachvereniging
De Nederlandse Bachvereniging
De Nederlandse Bachvereniging is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. Choir and orchestra are internationally known as the Netherlands Bach Society...
, conducted by Charles de Wolff, with Max van Egmond
Max van Egmond
Max van Egmond is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
as the Vox Christi
Vox Christi
Vox Christi, Latin for Voice of Christ, is a term for the bass voice representing Jesus in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and others. This part appears prominently in Bach's Passions...
. He recorded the St John Passion, the St Matthew Passion and the Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
also with Michel Corboz
Michel Corboz
Michel Corboz is a Swiss conductor.Corboz was born in Marsens, Switzerland and educated in his native canton of Fribourg. He founded the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, with which he has recorded and toured extensively...
. He recorded Bach cantatas also with the Gächinger Kantorei
Gächinger Kantorei
Gächinger Kantorei is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen and still conducted by him. A "Kantorei" is a choir of high standard dedicated mostly, but not exclusively, to sacred music. The ensemble operates in Stuttgart now and is therefore...
and Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
. With Harnoncourt he recorded works of Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, such as his operas L'Orfeo, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera in a prologue and five acts , set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season...
, L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian baroque opera comprising a prologue and three acts, first performed in Venice during the 1642–43 carnival season. The music, attributed to Claudio Monteverdi, is a setting of a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello...
or the Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610. He recorded sacred music of the classical period with the Vienna Choir boys, such as Mozart's Missa solemnis in C minor, K. 139 "Waisenhausmesse", his Coronation Mass, Haydn's Theresienmesse or Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major, D 950.
Kurt Equiluz started teaching in 1964, was appointed professor of the Musikhochschule of Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
in 1971, and of the Wiener Musikakademie in 1982.
Selected recordings
- Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245
- Kurt Equiluz (Evangelist), Max van EgmondMax van EgmondMax van Egmond is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
, Trebles & Alto Soloists from the Wiener Sängerknaben, Bert van t'Hoff, Jacques Villisech, Wiener Sängerknaben, Chorus Viennensis, Concentus Musicus Wien, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Teldec 1965- Bach: Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244
- Kurt Equiluz (Evangelist), Karl RidderbuschKarl RidderbuschKarl Ridderbusch was a German operatic bass, associated in particular with the music of Wagner. He was recognised as a notable exponent of the role of Hans Sachs.-Background and early career:...
, soprano soloists of the Wiener Sängerknaben, James Bowman, Tom Sutcliff, Paul EsswoodPaul EsswoodPaul Esswood is an English countertenor. He is best known for his singing in Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman, he led the revival of countertenor singing in modern times.Esswood was born in West Bridgford, England. He...
, Nigel RogersNigel RogersNigel David Rogers is an English tenor, conductor, and teacher, who has made numerous recordings, mostly of early music.A native of Wellington, Shropshire, Rogers studied at King's College, Cambridge from 1953–1956, in Rome in 1957, in Milan from 1958–1959, and with Gerhard Hüsch at the Munich...
, Michael Schopper, Regensburger DomspatzenRegensburger DomspatzenThe Regensburger Domspatzen is the official choir for the liturgical music at St Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany...
, Choir of King's College, CambridgeChoir of King's College, CambridgeThe Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great British choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the...
, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Teldec 1970 ("Erste Gesamtaufnahme in authentischer Besetzung mit Originalinstrumenten. Aufnahmeort: Wien, Casino Zögernitz, September 1970." - first complete recording in authentic instrumentation with period instruments, Vienna)- Bach: WeihnachtsoratoriumChristmas OratorioThe Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
, BWV 248
- Bach: Weihnachtsoratorium
- Kurt Equiluz (Evangelist), Barbara SchlickBarbara SchlickBarbara Schlick is a German soprano who is particularly admired for interpretations of the concert literature of the baroque era.-Career:...
, Carolyn WatkinsonCarolyn WatkinsonThe English mezzo-soprano Carolyn Watkinson is a well-known singer of baroque music.Watkinson was born in Preston and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music and in The Hague. In 1978 she sang Rameau's Phèdre at the English Bach Festival at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden...
, Michel Brodard, Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, Orchestre de Chambre de LausanneOrchestre de Chambre de LausanneThe Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Lausanne, Switzerland.The violinist and conductor Victor Desarzens founded the orchestra in 1942, and served as its first artistic director for 30 years...
, conductor Michel CorbozMichel CorbozMichel Corboz is a Swiss conductor.Corboz was born in Marsens, Switzerland and educated in his native canton of Fribourg. He founded the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, with which he has recorded and toured extensively...
, Erato 1984- Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine
- Margaret MarshallMargaret Anne MarshallMargaret Anne Marshall OBE is a Scottish soprano.Marshall was born in Stirling. Her career started in the 1970s and she has sung a wide range of classical and operatic roles....
, Felicity PalmerFelicity PalmerDame Felicity Joan Palmer, DBE , is an English mezzo-soprano and music professor. She sang soprano roles until 1983....
, Philip LangridgePhilip LangridgePhilip Gordon Langridge CBE was an English tenor, considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio....
, Kurt Equiluz, Thomas Hampson, Arthur Korn, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Tölzer KnabenchorTölzer KnabenchorThe Tölzer Knabenchor is a boys' choir with roots in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz.The choir group is still led by director and singing master Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, who founded the choir in 1956 when he was only nineteen years old. The founder was once a student of Carl Orff's and worked with him...
, Wiener Hofburgkapelle, Choralschola, Concentus Musicus Wien, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Teldec 1987
External links
- "Ich bin ein Musiker, der zufällig singt" (I am a musician who happens to sing) Interview in the Wiener ZeitungWiener ZeitungWiener Zeitung is an Austrian newspaper. It is one of the most famous newspapers in Europe and one of the oldest, still published newspapers in the world. It is the official publication used by the Government of the Republic of Austria for its formal announcements. It was founded in 1703 under the...
on the occasion of the singer's 80th birthday, 13 June 2009 (in German) - Entries for recordings by Kurt Equiluz on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...