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Dietrich Kilian

1928 – 1984

German musicologist

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About Dietrich Kilian

Lived 1928 – 1984 (aged 56). Dietrich Kilian was a German musicologist and editor.

Dietrich Kilian (3 May 1928 – 6 September 1984) was a German musicologist.

Career

Kilian was born in Roßlau. He studied at the Freie Universität Berlin and earned the doctorate in 1956 with a thesis "Das Vokalwerk D. Buxtehudes – Quellenstudien zu seiner Überlieferung und Verwendung" (The vocal works by D. Buxtehude – study of the sources regarding tradition and use). He was from 1958 an editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the critical edition of the complete works by Johann Sebastian Bach, editing, including critical reports, for the rest of his life, on the cantatas (I/13), the orchestral works (VII/3) and the organ works (IV/5–7). With Alfred Dürr and Klaus Hofmann and others, he authored Kritischer Bericht (Critical Commentary).

He rediscovered and published in 1963 the prelude in C major by Buxtehude (BuxWV 138).

Selected works

Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke: Serie 1, Kantaten. Bd. 13. Kantaten zum 1. Pfingsttag. Kritischer Bericht, Deutscher Verlag für Musik, 1960 Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke. Serie I, Kantaten: Kantaten zum 20. und 21. Sonntag nach Trinitatis : kritischer Bericht, Band 25, Verlag Bärenreiter, 1997 Präludien, Toccaten, Fantasien und Fugen für Orgel: kritischer Bericht, Teil 1, Verlag Bärenreiter, 1978 Das Vokalwerk Dietrich Buxtehudes: Quellenstudien zu seiner Überlieferung und Verwendung, Verlag Berlin., 1956 Neun Kantaten für vier Singstimmen und Instrumente, Band 8 von Dietrich Buxtehudes Werke, illustrierte Neuauflage, Verlag Broude International Editions, 1978

Literature

Reinmar Emans: Die Neue Bach-Ausgabe. In: Jochaim Lüdtke (ed.), Bach und die Nachwelt, vol. 4 (1950-2000), Laaber-Verlag, 2005, p. 289-303, p. 297ff.,

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Important facts

People in Dietrich Kilian's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Dietrich Kilian's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dietrich Kilian?

German musicologist (1928-1984)

When was Dietrich Kilian born?

Dietrich Kilian was born on 3 May 1928 in Roßlau (Elbe).

When did Dietrich Kilian die?

Dietrich Kilian died on 6 September 1984.

What was Dietrich Kilian's occupation?

Dietrich Kilian was a musicologist and editor.

What nationality was Dietrich Kilian?

Dietrich Kilian was German.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Dietrich Kilian

· Wikidata: Q1223881

· DBpedia: Dietrich Kilian

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Dietrich Kilian. https://biography.guide/dietrich-kilian/

MLA: "Dietrich Kilian." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/dietrich-kilian/.

Chicago: "Dietrich Kilian." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/dietrich-kilian/.

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