Franz Lehrndorfer

File:Organ Frauenkirche München.jpg

Organ in the Frauenkirche, Munich

Franz Lehrndorfer (10 August 1928 – 10 January 2013) was a German organist and composer. A specialist in organ improvisation, he was for decades both the organist of the Munich cathedral Frauenkirche and the head of the department of Catholic Church Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. Several of his students became cathedral organists and professors.

Career

Born in Salzburg, Lehrndorfer grew up in Kempten. He received his first music lessons from his father, who was a choir director and musicologist. He played the organ in the local parish age 9. From 1948 to 1951, Lehrndorfer studied Catholic Church Music in Munich, achieving his master class diploma for organ in 1952. After graduation, he worked as a music teacher with the boys' choir Regensburger Domspatzen under cathedral Kapellmeister Theobald Schrems. In 1962, he began his career as a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München where he worked until his retirement in 1993 as head of Catholic church music. From 1969 to 2003, Lehrndorfer also worked in the position of organist at the Munich cathedral Frauenkirche. A particular focus of his artistic activity is organ improvisation. In 2001, he played the premiere of Harald Genzmer's Concerto for organ and edited it for publication by Schott Music. He composed mostly works for organ, such as variations on the carol "O du fröhliche", and sacred music. Lehrndorfer designed several major organs, including in 1980 the new organ of the Tegernsee Abbey with 33 stops, three manuals, a pedalboard and mechanical wind chest, made by de.

In the summer of 2008, on his 80th birthday, former students organized a major concert series in the Frauenkirche. In honor of Theobald Schrems, Lehrndorfer composed the Missa in memoriam Theobald Schrems for four-part male choir. A choir of former members of the Regensburger Domspatzen premiered the work on 9 November 2008 in the Regensburg Cathedral. He died in Munich.

Awards

At the ARD International Music Competition 1957, Lehrndorfer won the first prize in the organ category. In 1981, he was awarded the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis for his album Organ Music from the Munich Cathedral. In recognition of his achievements, he received a number of awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate from the Pontifical Academy of Music in Rome and the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class.

Students

Several of Lehrndorfer's students gathered for his 80th birthday, including professors Winfried Bönig (Cologne Cathedral), Harald Feller, Wilhelm Hafner, Marlene Hinterberger, Wolfgang Hörlin, Edgar Krapp, Klemens Schnorr (Freiburg Minster), Gerhard Weinberger and Markus Willinger (Bamberg Cathedral), and cathedral organists Ludwig Ruckdeschel (Passau), Wolfram Menschick, Martin Bernreuther (both Eichstätt), and Josef Still (Trier Cathedral). His pupils also include de, a successor of Schrems, and Gabriel Dessauer.

Literature

• Dux et comes for his 70th birthday

External links

• Official Website
• Franz Lehrndorfer at AllMusic
• Literature by and about Franz Lehrndorfer in the German National Library catalogue
• Franz Lehrndorfer bach-cantatas.com 2006