by Ben Hogwood picture courtesy of Opus Artists

Last week we learned the sad news of the death of conductor Helmuth Rilling, at the age of 92. An obituary can be found at the New York Times website

Rilling will forever be closely associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, becoming the first conductor to record all of his cantatas in a project begun in October 1969 and completed on the occasion of Bach’s 300^th anniversary in 1985. The results were released on the German label Hänssler, and immediately won the ‘Grand Prix du Disque’.

In honour of Rilling’s achievements, this Tidal playlist comprises his recordings of three Bach cantatas written for the Sunday before Lent – falling today – and excerpts from works he commissioned for Passion 2000, marking the 250^th anniversary of Bach’s death, from the composers Tan Dun, Osvaldo Golijov, Wolfgang Rihm and Sofia Gubaidulina

Published post no.2,799 – Sunday 15 February 2026