Rudolf Kelber

Rudolf Kelber began his musical education at high school in Nuremberg State Conservatory and received instruction in piano, organ, cello and music theory. From 1967 to 1974, he studied church music, conducting, and organ (master class) at the Musikhochschule in Munich. In 1982, Rudolf Kelber succeeded Heinz Wunderlich as cantor and organist at the Hauptkirche St. Jacobi in Hamburg. Kelber initiated the fundamental restoration of the Arp Schnitger organ, the largest sounding baroque organ in existence, in the Hauptkirche St. Jacobi, which was completed in 1993. The second organ of St. Jacobi (Kemper 1960/1968) was also repaired on his initiative in 2008. The tenure of Rudolf Kelber at the Hauptkirche St. Jacobi in Hamburg ended in 2015. He continues to perform as an organist, harpsichordist, and jazz pianist and composes.

Kelber has performed as organ soloist in the U.S., Japan, Israel, and almost all European countries with a wide repertoire: in addition to composers in the North German tradition (determined by the historic Schnitger organ) he also plays the music of Liszt, Reger, and Messiaen, as well as arrangements of symphonies or parts from operas, tango, and blues. He has frequently accompanied silent films with organ improvisations.

Rudolf Kelber has conducted the great Passions, oratorios and requiems as well as a lot of baroque, classical, romantic and modern symphonic works. Staged performances of operas and oratorios by Cavalieri, Monteverdi, Stradella, Purcell, Handel, Gluck and Mozart have developed under his direction in both Heidelberg and Hamburg. From 2005 to 2009, Kelber conducted five baroque operas from the repertoire of the Hamburg Gänsemarkt opera in concert performances at the Bucerius Kunst Forum for the ZEIT-Stiftung.

• Ernst-Ulrich von Kameke: Moabiter Requiem "In Tyrannos" (premieres in Hamburg (1999, Hauptkirche St. Michaelis) and in Hannover at the Expo 2000) • Edward Elgar: The Apostles (Hamburg premiere 2005) • Olivier Messiaen: La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Hamburg premiere 2008, Bremen premiere 2008)