Max Thurn

Max Thurn (27 October 1897 – 1969) was a German conductor who was known particularly for his work as a choral conductor. He was the director of the choir of the Hamburgische Staatsoper and of the NDR Chor, and was a co-founder of the boys' choir of the broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR).

Max Thurn
Born27 October 1897
Died1969 (aged 71–72)
OccupationChoral conductor
Organization

Career

Thurn was the choral conductor of the Hamburgische Staatsoper from 1946 to 1965. His productions included Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1954, with Teresa Stich-Randall and Rudolf Schock in leading roles.[1]

He founded the choir of the broadcaster Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR, later NDR) on 1 May 1946, after accepting 55 singers from more than 2,000 applications.[2] He conducted the choir in Hamburg while Otto Franze conducted the choir in Cologne,[3] until NDR and WDR split in 1955.

From 1953 he conducted for the NDR a series of Bach cantatas, [4][2] with members of the NDR Chor, members of the NDR Sinfonieorchester, and renowned soloists such as Margot Guilleaume, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, Erich Wenk, Lotte Wolf-Matthäus and Ursula Zollenkopf.[5] The repertory of the choir included also operettas such as Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss.[2] Thurn prepared the NWDR Chor Hamburg for the posthumous premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's unfinished opera Moses und Aron at the Musikhalle Hamburg on 12 March 1954.[3][6]

Some of his radio productions were later issued on record and CD, such as in 1953 Puccini's Tosca with Rudolf Schock. Thurn prepared in 1953 the choir of the NWDR for Wagner's Lohengrin, with soloists Maud Cunitz, Schock, Margarete Klose, Josef Metternich and Gottlob Frick, conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter.[7] In 1956, Thurn prepared the choir for a performance for the opening of the 77th Deutscher Katholikentag in Cologne from 29 August to 2 September, aired from the Funkhaus in Cologne. The Requiem by Hector Berlioz was performed by Nicolai Gedda, the radio choirs and the Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos.[8] In 1965, he prepared the NDR Chor for a live recording of Isang Yun's Om mani padme hum (1964), with the Rundfunkorchester des NDR Hannover conducted by Francis Travis.[9]

In 1960, Thurn and Horst Sellentin founded the boys' choir of the NDR, later called Hamburger Knabenchor St. Nikolai. In Thurn's last concert with the NDR Chor before his retirement in 1965, he conducted a cappella music from Josquin des Prez to Krzysztof Penderecki's Stabat Mater.[2]

Selected recordings

Recordings of operas for which he prepared the choir are held by the German National Library:[10]

Bibliography
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References
  1. "Rudolf Schock / Mozart Opern 10 CDs" (in German). akzente-buch.de. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  2. Stäbler, Markus. "70 Jahre NDR Chor" (in German). NDR. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  3. "Moses und Aron" / Third Programme, 26 February 1955". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. "NDR Chor" (PDF). Festkonzert zur Überreichung der Brahms-Medaille der Stadt Hamburg an den NDR Chor (in German). NDR. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  5. "Max Thurn & NDR-Chor & NDR Sinfonieorchester / Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works". Bach-Cantatas. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  6. "Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) / Moses und Aron (1923–1937)". IRCAM. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  7. "Rudolf Schock – The Birthday Edition – Wagner Operas, 10" (in German). buechercafe.ro. 1953. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  8. "Funk für Anspruchsvolle: Mit leichter Hand". Die Zeit (in German). 1956. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  9. "Isang Yun – CD 11". International Isang Yun Society. 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  10. "Max Thurn works" (in German). DNB. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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