MUSIClassical ALLEGRO
Topic: NEWS performers
The 74-year-old founder and conductor of the Stuttgart Bach Academy is considered a leading expert on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). He was trained as an organist and church musician. Recently Rilling was one of the speakers at the evangelical convention “Vivace” on classical and contemporary church music in Schwaebisch Gmuend near Stuttgart. He emphasized that the church’s main purpose is to glorify God. He observes, however, that personal feelings are increasingly coming to the fore. In Rilling’s opinion it is not good enough to say, “I had a good time” after a worship service or a church concert. “Shouldn’t we rather say: I had a decisive or a deeply moving time?” asked the conductor. In his opinion entertainment and seriousness should be clearly distinguishable. Rilling is concerned that churches pay too much respect to the tastes of outsiders in their choice of music, for example by organizing Gospel or Pop concerts. The church has such a unique and great message, he said, that there is no need to snuggle up to entertainment elements. Rilling has recorded the complete choral works of Bach, involving more than 1,000 pieces of music and spanning 170 compact discs. He is also co-founder and artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival. 
