Rainer Kunad


Rainer Kunad was a German conductor and composer, especially of opera.

Life

Kunad studied choir and ensemble conducting at the Dresden Conservatoire from 1955 to 1956 and then, until 1959, composition with Fidelio F. Finke and Ottmar Gerster at the Musikhochschule in Leipzig. From 1960 to 1974, he directed theatrical music at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, and 1971 onward, he also worked at the Berlin State Opera. Kunad was a regular member of the Academy of the Arts of the GDR since 1974. In 1972, he received the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic, the in 1973, and the National Prize of the German Democratic Republic in 1975.
In 1985, he applied to the authorities for a dismissal from GDR citizenship, which was granted. He lived in West Germany from 1984 onward. He spent the last years of his life as a freelance artist in Tübingen.
Kunad composed piano pieces, chamber and orchestral music and operas.

Works

Operas
Ballets
Symphonies
Concertos
Orchestral
Chamber music:
Vocal music
Oratorios
Sacred oratorios
Mystery plays
Sacred symphonies