Günther Theuring (Choral Conductor)

Born: Austria

The Austrian choral conductor, Günther Theuring began his musical training as a choir boy in the Wiener Sängerknaben. Later on, he studied conducting with Ferdinand Grossmann (choir) and Hans Swarowsky (Orchestra) at the former Music Academy He has been the Vienna Academy Chamber Choir since 1955, and has made 4 USA tours organized by the Columbia Artists Management, New York.

In 1959 Günther Theuring founded the Wiener Jeunesse-Chor (Vienna Youth Choir). In which both Paul Hindemith and Leonard Bernstein were honorary members. The choir has also recorded L. Bernstein’s complete vocal-instrumental works, under the direction of the conductor. In 1971 he founded the "Ensemble Contraste, Wien”, which developed a reputation of focusing on the interpretation of the music of the "Second Vienna School" – Invitation to the Piccolo Teatro di Milano from Claudio Abbado.

Günther Theuring has been active as a conductor since 1960, and has conducted in Belgium, Germany, Israel, Spain, USA, Japan, and Austria. He has conducted concerts, among others, with the Leipzig Rundfunkchor, the ORF Choir Vienna, the Bayrische Rundfunk Choir, the Budapest Rundfunk Choir, the Rundfunkchor Berlin, the Choir of the Danish Broadcasting Company, Copenhagen, the Wiener Singakademie, the Slovenski Komorni Zbor, the Frankfurt Rundfunk Choir, and the Choir of the Slovenian Broadcasting Company Laibach.

Günther Theuring has been a guest conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (Gustav Mahler’s Eighth Symphony), Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Slovakian Philharmonic, Mozarteum-Orchestra Salzburg, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Danish Broadcasting Company, ORF Symphony Orchestra, and Tonkünstler-Orchester. He has also been invited as a guest conductor for the Barcelona Festival, Israel Festival, Wiener Festwochen, the Monreale Festival, Palermo, and the Scala di Milano's 200^th anniversary. In 1990 he was invited to conduct 8 concerts by the Milan Scala (Stagione concertistica) to conduct Felix Mendelssohn's Elias.

In 1973 Günther Theuring was appointed as a full professor of a choral conducting class at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna. In 1999 professor emeritus at that school. In 1975 he founded the Vienna Master Courses with the Kulturamt of the City of Vienna, and has been the artistic director of the organization since then. In 2005, he also became the president of the organization. In 1987, he was the artistic Director of the "First World Symposium for Choral Music" in Vienna, organized by the Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Chormusik and the Internationalen Federation for Choral Music (IFCM).

In 1970, Günther Theuring was given the Golden Medal of Honor of the Republic of Austria. In 1984, he received Austrian Medal of Honor for the Arts and Sciences, Class I.

Source: Vienna Master Courses Website (2008)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (December 2008)

Günther Theuring: Short Biography | Wiener Jeunesse-Chor | Recordings of Vocal Works

Links to other Sites

Günther Teuring (Vienna Master Courses) [German/English]