Helmuth Rilling, the German choral conductor and academic teacher who was internationally known as an authority on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, died on February 11, 2026.
Born in Stuttgart on May 29, 1933, he founded the Gächinger Kantorei in 1954 while still a student, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in 1965, the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970, and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981, along with other Bach academies worldwide. He also founded the Festival Ensemble Stuttgart in 2001 and the Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble in 2011.
Rilling taught choral conducting at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule from 1965 to 1989 and led the Frankfurter Kantorei from 1969 to 1982.
Helmuth Rilling (29 May 1933 – 11 February 2026) was a German choral conductor and an academic teacher who was internationally known as an authority on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei in 1954 when still a student, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in 1965, the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981 and other Bach Academies worldwide, as well as the Festival Ensemble Stuttgart (FES) in 2001 and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble in 2011. He taught choral conducting at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule from 1965 to 1989 and led the Frankfurter Kantorei from 1969 to 1982. He held talk concerts, introducing the music with the performers, internationally and notably in Eastern Europe.