Heribert Beissel

Heribert Beissel (27 March 1933 – 11 June 2021 ) was a German conductor. While based in Bonn for decades, as conductor at the Bonn Opera and as founder and conductor of the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, he also held leading positions in Halle (Saale) and Frankfurt (Oder) after the German reunification. His discography covers composers from Bach to Debussy.

Life and career

Born in Wesel,

After the German reunification, he was chief conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle from 1991 to 1999, and was also the founder and conductor of the Landesjugendorchester Sachsen-Anhalt. They recorded the First Piano Concerto by Johannes Brahms live in 2017, with Ekaterina Litvintseva as the soloist.

Awards 1962: First prize conducting competition of Deutscher Musikrat and the NDR in Hanover 1982: Johannes Brahms Medal of Hamburg 1998: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

2004: Kultursenator of Saxony-Anhalt 2006: Honorary conductor of Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt 2012: Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt