Search - Fritz Lehmann :: Johannes-Passion (St. John Passion)

Fritz Lehmann (1904 - 1956) became conductor of the Händel Festival in Göttingen in 1934, and held numerous conducting posts, the last one in Göttingen (1946-1950). He subsequently was a teacher at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich (from 1953). A consummate conductor, he led notable performances in oratorio, opera, and symphonic literature, ranging from the Baroque period to the 20th century. He died at age 52 of a heart attack during a performance of Bach s St. Matthew Passion. Especially noted for his Bach and Handel interpretations, he made numerous acclaimed Bach cantata recordings for DGG. He left no studio recording of the St. John Passion so we are fortunate that this live performance, with the highly experienced soloists Julius Patzak as the Evangelist and Gerard Souzay as Christ, was taped.