Johannes Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 Katharina Konradi, Konstantin Krimmel, Gaechinger Cantorey, Luxembourg Philharmonic & Hans-Christoph Rademann

• 1 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen 10:05
• 2 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: II. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras 13:18
• 3 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: III. Herr, lehre doch mich 08:43
• 4 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, Herr Zebaoth 05:14
• 5 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit 06:23
• 6 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt 11:13
• 7 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: VII. Selig sind die Toten 10:14
• Total Runtime 01:05:10

Info for Johannes Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45

This powerful live recording from the Philharmonie Luxembourg brings together the choir of the renowned Gaechinger Cantorey and the Luxembourg Philharmonic under the musical direction of Hans-Christoph Rademann for an emotionally charged interpretation of Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. Featuring acclaimed soloists Katharina Konradi (soprano) and Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), this performance offers a deeply human and musically refined experience of one of the most important choral works of the 19th century. Unlike the traditional Latin Requiem, Brahms' German Requiem focuses not on the dead but on the living -- on comfort, compassion, and hope. Drawing on texts from the Lutheran Bible, Brahms crafts a spiritual and emotional journey that speaks directly to the human condition, transcending religious boundaries and remaining timeless in its message. Rademann, a master of choral conducting, shapes the work with clarity, warmth, and expressive nuance. Under his direction, the Gaechinger Cantorey delivers a performance marked by rich tone, articulate phrasing, and emotional intensity. The Luxembourg Philharmonic adds glowing orchestral color and transparency, perfectly complementing the vocal forces. The synergy between choir, orchestra, conductor, and soloists is palpable throughout, offering a fresh yet profoundly respectful interpretation of this beloved masterpiece.

Katharina Konradi, soprano
Konstantin Krimmel, baritone
Gaechinger Cantorey
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg
Hans-Christoph Rademann, conductor

Katharina Konradi
was born in Bishkek and is the first soprano from Kyrgyzstan to have an international career as a Lied, concert and opera singer. Her “crystal-clear” voice and “dazzling vocal technique,” (Backtrack) has a “fascinating palette of colour shades,” (Das Opernglas) which she employs for roles such as Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), and on the concert and recital stage. Her love of singing developed in childhood, and her move to Germany with her family at age 15 – and subsequent German citizenship – nurtured her love of classical music. Balancing her time between opera, Liederabend and concert work, recent engagements include performances at the Bayerische Staastoper, Wiener Staatsoper, and Opernhaus Zürich, recitals at Wigmore Hall and Konzerthaus Wien, and concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic, and Munich Philharmonic.

Konradi’s opera appearances in her 2025/26 season includes a return to the Semperoper Dresden in one of her signature roles, Pamina, in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. She will also sing the role of Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier with the Wiener Staatsoper on tour in Japan, and reprise the role in concert performances at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Highlights from her concert appearances include the London Symphony Orchestra’s season opening concert at the Barbican Centre with Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, ‘Kaddish’ under Antonio Pappano, and Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in Japan, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the DSO at the Philharmonie Berlin and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Haydn’s Nelsonmesse with the Wiener Philharmoniker at the Musikverein Wien and Die Schöpfung with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Liederabend also form an integral part of her season, with appearances at Les Arts Valencia, Wigmore Hall, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, among others. Her latest recording, a collection of Lieder by Liszt with pianist Daniel Heide, Un Cycle Imaginaire, will be released by Universal Music in the Fall of 2025.

Konstantin Krimmel
with German-Romanian roots, first got in touch with music sining at the St. George's Choir Boys in Ulm and from this moment on, the fascination of music never left him. At the age of 21, he began his vocal studies with Prof. Teru Yoshihara, which the singer completed with distinction in 2020. In the meantime he is being coached by Tobias Truniger in Munich.

Even in his student days, Konstantin Krimmel developed a special love for the concert and lied repertoire, which he quickly expanded. He has won numerous competitions since, including the German Music Competition 2019 as well as 1st prize at the International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition, 2nd prize at the International Singing Competition 'Das Lied' in Heidelberg and the Gian Battista Viotti International Music Competition.

Accordingly, the artist has already toured nationally and internationally. These include recitals at the Kölner Philharmonie, the Deutsche Opern Berlin, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Oper Frankfurt, the Heidelberger Frühling, as a guest at the Schubertíada de Vilabertran, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, in Madrid, in London (Wigmore Hall) and at the Lied Festival in Oxford. In 2021/2022 he will be heard in Strasbourg, Nuremberg and Hohenems, among other places.

Further fine tasks are waiting the young baritone in the oratorio field. In summer 2021, the Brahms Requiem under the direction of Raphael Pichon (together with Sabine Devieilhe, soprano) him in Bordeaux and the surrounding area, an extensive tour (Christmas Oratorio by J.S.Bach) with the Nederlands Kamerkoor under the direction of P.Dijkstra in December and concerts with Bach's St. Matthew Passion under the direction of Ph. Herreweghe at Easter 2022.

Konstantin Krimmel will open a whole new chapter in the field of opera when he becomes a member of the Bavarian State Opera beginning in autumn 2021. There he can be seen in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos (Harlequin), in Britten's Peter Grimes (Ned Keene) and in Thomas (Matthias) by Georg Friedrich Haas in the next season. In the next few years, he will be performing major Mozart roles in particular. He also returns to the Staatstheater Wiesbaden as 'Figaro' in Mozart's Figaro's Wedding.

Since 2019 Konstantin Krimmel has been an exclusive artist of the French label Alpha - a recording of Handel's 'Brockes Passion' together with the Ensemble Arcangelo under Jonathan Cohen has recently been released. His first Lied CD entitled 'Saga' (Lieder and Ballads by Loewe, Schumann, Schubert, Adolf Jensen) was highly praised by Thilo Braun, Deutschlandfunk, among others: "At only 26 years of age, he already possesses an interpretative depth and a technical sovereignty with which he doesn’t need to fear comparison with great Lied singers in his vocal field.“

Hans-Christoph Rademann
is a versatile and distinguished conductor who is passionately devoted to both early and contemporary music. Born in Dresden and raised in the Erzgebirge (a mountainous region in Saxony, Germany), he was influenced early on by the Central German cantor and music tradition. He was a pupil at the traditional Kreuzgymnasium and a member of the Kreuzchor, and later studied choral and orchestral conducting at the Dresden University of Music.

While still a student, he founded the Dresdner Kammerchor in 1985, which he has conducted ever since and developed into an internationally renowned ensemble. Since 2013, Hans-Christoph Rademann has also been the Director of the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart. He works closely with numerous leading choirs and orchestras, including the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, the Collegium Vocale Gent, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg. From 1999 to 2004, he was principal conductor of the NDR Chor, and from 2007 to 2015 of the RIAS Kammerchor.

His artistic work has received numerous awards, including the Johann Walter Plaque, the Saxon Constitution Medal, the Art Prize of the State Capital Dresden, the German Record Critics' Award, the Grand Prix du Disque, the Diapason d'or and the Opus Klassik. In 2025, he received one of the highest honours in German choral music, the Georg Friedrich Händel Ring from the Association of German Concert Choirs.

Particular mention should be made of his recording of the complete works of Heinrich Schütz with the Dresdner Kammerchor for Carus-Verlag – a major editorial project that was awarded with the Heinrich Schütz Prize in 2018 and the Opus Klassik in 2020.

Hans-Christoph Rademann is Professor of Choral Conducting at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden, Artistic Director of the Erzgebirge Music Festival, Ambassador of the Erzgebirge and patron of the Christian Hospice Service Dresden.

Booklet for Johannes Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45