Günter Jena


Günter Jena is a German choral conductor and musicologist. He was the director of church music at St. Michaelis in Hamburg from 1973 to 1997. He founded the festival Bach-Tage Hamburg, and provided music for ballet performances of choreographer John Neumeier at the Hamburg State Opera, including Bach's St Matthew Passion.

Career

Born in Leipzig, Jena attended the Thomasschule there, and then studied musicology. He studied psychology and philosophy in Berlin, and conducting and organ at the Musikhochschule München with Karl Richter, becoming his assistant.
Jena worked as the church musician at in Würzburg. In 1969 he founded the festival. From 1973 he was the church musician at Hamburg's Hauptkirche St. Michaelis, where he regularly conducted performances of works by Bach, music from the classical period and the romantic period. He founded the festival Bach-Tage Hamburg, and was appointed Kirchenmusikdirektor for the region. Jena prepared choir and orchestra for performances by the choreographer John Neumeier at the Hamburgische Staatsoper, including Bach's St Matthew Passion in 1981 and Mozart's Requiem. Jena conducted the performances for the premieres, and also a revival of the St Matthew Passion in 2013, now in his church. The 200th performance of the production was given on Good Friday 2017.
Jena prepared and conducted the NDR Chor for a recording of the complete a cappella works by Johannes Brahms from 1981. It includes works such as Fünf Gesänge, Op. 104. Jena retired in 1997. He published books about the musicological and theological background of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, The Art of Fugue and St Matthew Passion. He is a member of the Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg.

Awards

Jena was awarded the Würzburg Cultural Prize in 1970. The appointed him an honorary professor in 1986 and awarded him the music prize Johannes Brahms Medal in 1987.

Publications

Publications by Jena are held by the German National Library:
Recordings by Jena are held by the German National Library: