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Jürgen Kesting

Jürgen Kesting
Colour, three-quarter profile, studio publicity shot, of an unsmiling, clean-shaven man with white hair and side parting. His mouth is partially open, as if speaking.
Jürgen Kesting, c. 2010
Born(1940-07-26)26 July 1940
Duisburg, German Reich
Died5 June 2026(2026-06-05) (aged 85)
Hamburg, Germany
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • music critic
  • writer
Organizations

Jürgen Kesting (26 July 1940 – 5 June 2026) was a German journalist, music critic and author who focused on great voices. After working for record companies, he became a journalist for magazines and newspapers, writing for decades as an influential critic, for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from 1997. He authored series for radio stations about great singers and wrote a book in three volumes about the topic in 1986, later expanded to four volumes. He wrote a monograph about Maria Callas in 1990. Both books became standard works, translated into several languages. He used his knowledge of voices as a member of the jury of the singing competition Neue Stimmen from 2005 to 2019. In 2006 Kesting initiated, together with the historian Hannes Heer and the designer Peter Schmidt [de], a project Verstummte Stimmen (Silenced Voices), a project of exhibitions about victims of Nazi racism against Jews working in opera houses.

Life and career

Born on 26 July 1940 in Duisburg,[1] Kesting studied German and English culture as well as philosophy in Cologne and Vienna from 1960 to 1967.[2] After four years as press officer of Electrola (1969–1971) and the Munich Eurodisc (1971–1973), he worked as editor, department head, managing editor and author for Stern from 1973.[3] In 1993 he changed as an author to the newly founded newspaper Die Woche [de]. In autumn 1997 he developed for Gruner + Jahr the music magazine Amadeo.[2]

After numerous music broadcasts – for WDR, Südwestfunk, Süddeutscher Rundfunk, Bayerischer Rundfunk, SWR, RBB, DR – in 1986 he published a comprehensive study Die großen Sänger in three volumes which was considered a standard work.[4][5] This was followed in 1990 by a monograph on Maria Callas[6][7] translated into English, Russian and Japanese,[8] and in 1991 by a book essay on Luciano Pavarotti, translated into English.[9] For thirteen years he produced a weekly music series about great singers for the NDR;[10] for four ARD stations (SFB, NDR, MDR, Süddeutscher Rundfunk) a 26-episodes series about Maria Callas, then also 26 episodes about the pianist Vladimir Horowitz; for the third ARD programs a 13-part TV series Die großen Tenöre der Schellack-Ära. As a freelance author he wrote for the magazines Opernwelt, Fono Forum [de] and Musik und Theater. Since 1997 he was a freelancer for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.[2] In 2008 he revised his study Die großen Sänger and brought it up to date, now in four volumes.[11] It is not only an encyclopedic work but relates the art of singing in a context of a history of styles, interpretation and social developments.[10]

Verstummte Stimmen poster in Stuttgart, 2008

Kesting initiated, together with the historian Hannes Heer and the designer Peter Schmidt [de], a project of exhibitions beginning in 2006, Verstummte Stimmen (Silenced Voices), about victims of Nazi racism against Jews in German and Austrian opera houses. The exhibition traveled to several locations,[12] finally in 2012 to Bayreuth, where part of it was retained permanently in a park, entitled Die Bayreuther Festspiele und die Juden 1876–1945 (The Bayreuth Festival and the Jews 1876 to 1945).[13][14]

Kesting was for ten years a member of the program committee of the International Stuttgart Stimmtage. From 2005 to 2019, Kesting was a member of the jury of the singing competition Neue Stimmen.[15]

Kesting was called "pope of voices".[10][16][17] A former colleague at NDR notes his encyclopedic knowledge paired with a passion for voices and with precise and creative writing.[10]

His brother was the cultural journalist Hanjo Kesting [de].[18]

Kesting died in Hamburg on 5 June 2026, at the age of 85.[19][20]

Work

Books

  • Die Großen Sänger.[21] Claassen Verlag. Düsseldorf, 1986. Three volumes. 2094 pages.[4]
    • Die Großen Sänger. Revised and extended new edition. Hoffmann & Campe, 2008. Four volumes. 2547 pages.[22][23][11]
    • Die großen Sänger des 20. Jahrhunderts. Cormoran Verlag im Verlagshaus Goethestraße, 2001. Single volume. 1156 pages.[23]
  • Maria Callas.[24] Claassen Verlag. Düsseldorf, 1990. Translated into English,[25] Russian and Japanese.
  • Luciano Pavarotti. Econ-Verlag, 1991.[9]
  • Händel-Handbuch 2011. 20 encyclopedic entries[26]
  • Kleingärten in Städten.[27]
  • Verstummte Stimmen: die Vertreibung der "Juden" aus der Oper 1933 bis 1945. Metropol Verlag, 2008.[28]

Essays

  • Von Mund zu Mund und Hand zum Herzen. In Der Kuss. Achtzig Postkarten Bibliophile Taschenbücher. Harenberg. Dortmund, 1979[29]
  • Von den Bildern der Welt und dem Bild der Welt. In: Die Chronik des 20. Jahrhunderts. Eine Darstellung in Postkarten. Bibliophile Taschenbücher. Harenberg. Dortmund, 1983[30]
  • Die Stimme als Kunstwerk. In: Patrick Barbier: Farinelli. Der Kastrat der König. foreword. Econ-Verlag. Düsseldorf, 1995[31]
  • Von den Sprüngen der Zeit. In: André Heller: Jagmandir. Traum als Wirklichkeit. Das exzentrische Privattheater des Maharana von Udaipur. essay as introduction. Edition Christian Brandstädter. Vienna, 1991[32]

Television

  • Die Tenöre des Schellack-Zeitalters. Documentary in 13 parts, First aired: 2 June 1996. Series about the greatest tenors of the first half of the 20th century – from Enrico Caruso to Leo Slezak and Tito Schipa to Richard Tauber. Commentary/texts: Jürgen Kesting, director: Jan Schmidt-Garre (aired also in Italy, France, US; England)[33]
  • Jan Schmidt-Garre (dir.): Belcanto – Die Tenöre der Schellack-Zeit. 2017, 74 Min.[33]

References

  1. ^ Scholz, Dieter David (7 June 2026). "Nachruf auf Jürgen Kesting, den "Stimmen-Papst"". nmz – neue musikzeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Ensemble / Gäste". Oper Frankfurt (in German). 9 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  3. ^ "Jürgen Kesting". Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  4. ^ a b Kesting, Jürgen (1986). Die großen Sänger (in German). Düsseldorf: Claassen. ISBN 978-3-546-45387-5.
  5. ^ "Die großen Sänger". das Orchester (in German). 18 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  6. ^ "Die ewige Flamme". Der Spiegel (in German). 26 August 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  7. ^ ""Sie hat die Seele der Melodie gesungen"". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). 4 February 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  8. ^ Kesting, Jürgen (2006). Maria Callas (in German). München: List Taschenbuch. ISBN 978-3-548-60260-8.
  9. ^ a b Kesting, Jürgen; Pavarotti, Luciano (1991). Luciano Pavarotti: ein Essay über den Mythos der Tenorstimme (in German). Düsseldorf Wien New York: Econ-Verl. ISBN 978-3-430-15385-0.
  10. ^ a b c d Richter, Elisabet (8 June 2026). "Zum Tod von Jürgen Kesting: "Eine brennende Leidenschaft für Gesang"". NDR (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  11. ^ a b Kesting, Jürgen (2010). Die großen Sänger (in German). Kassel: Bärenreiter. ISBN 978-3-7618-2230-2.
  12. ^ "Verstummte Stimmen. Die Vertreibung der "Juden" aus der Oper 1933–1945". Centrum Judaicum (in German). 13 December 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  13. ^ ""Verstummte Stimmen" – Die Bayreuther Festspiele und die ‚Juden' 1876 bis 1945". Bayreuth (in German). 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  14. ^ Heer, Hannes; Kesting, Jürgen; Schmidt, Peter (2012). Verstummte Stimmen: Die Bayreuther Festspiele und die Juden 1876 bis 1933 (in German). Berlin: Metropol-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86331-087-5.
  15. ^ "Neue Stimmen 1987–2020". Startseite (in German). 15 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  16. ^ Brüggemann, Axel (7 June 2026). "Der Stimmpapst ist tot". BackstageClassical (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  17. ^ "Nachruf: "Jürgen Kesting – Der Stimmen-Papst ist tot"". Der Opernfreund (in German). 8 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  18. ^ "Hanjo Kesting: "Bis der reitende Bote des Königs erscheint"". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 28 January 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  19. ^ Brachmann, Jan (6 June 2026). "Zum Tod des Stimmexperten Jürgen Kesting". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  20. ^ Schütz, Larissa (9 June 2026). "Zum Tod von Jürgen Kesting: Der "Stimmen-Papst" ist gestorben". BR-KLASSIK (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  21. ^ Batta, András (1996). Die Großen Sänger. Cologne: Könemann. OCLC 254422326.
  22. ^ Kesting, Jürgen (2008). Die großen Sänger (in German). Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe. ISBN 978-3-455-50070-7.
  23. ^ a b Kesting, Jürgen (1998). Die großen Sänger des 20. Jahrhunderts (in German). München: Cormoran. ISBN 978-3-517-07987-5.
  24. ^ Batta, András (1998). Maria Callas. Cologne: Könemann. ISBN 978-3-8290-0453-4. OCLC 188145169.
  25. ^ Kesting, Jürgen (1993). Maria Callas. Boston: Northeastern University Press. ISBN 978-1-55553-179-9.
  26. ^ Das Händel-Handbuch: in 6 Bänden (in German). Lilienthal: Laaber-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-89007-684-3.
  27. ^ Bade, Klaus J. (1991). Kleingärten in Städten. Stuttgart: Kulturamt. OCLC 74463784.
  28. ^ Verstummte Stimmen: die Vertreibung der "Juden" aus der Oper 1933 bis 1945 ; eine Ausstellung (in German). Berlin: Metropol Verl. 2008. ISBN 978-3-938690-98-7.
  29. ^ Der Kuß: 80 alte Postkarten (in German). Dortmund: Harenberg. 1979. ISBN 978-3-921846-77-3.
  30. ^ Chronik des 20. Jahrhunderts: eine Darstellung in Postkarten (in German). Dortmund: Harenberg. 1983. ISBN 978-3-88379-393-1.
  31. ^ Barbier, Patrick; Kesting, Jürgen (1995). Farinelli: der Kastrat der Könige: die Biographie (in German). Düsseldorf: ECON. ISBN 3-430-11176-5.
  32. ^ Jagmandir: Traum als Wirklichkeit ; das exzentrische Privattheater des Maharana von Udaipur (in German). Wien: Brandstätter. 1991. ISBN 3-85447-400-8.
  33. ^ a b "Belcanto – The Tenors of the 78 Era". Pars Media. 3 November 1997. Retrieved 9 June 2026.

Further reading

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