Rattle’s Bruckner partner dies of heart attack at 58

Rattle’s Bruckner partner dies of heart attack at 58

RIP

norman lebrecht

November 27, 2023

We have been notified of the death of Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs, a German conductor and musicologist who devoted much of his attention to making sense of different performing editions of symphonies by Anton Bruckner, particularly the ninth.

He also worked closely with Simon Rattle on symphonies 4 to 7.

Comments

  • Alphonse says:

    A veritable preponderance of heart attacks and sudden deaths among young and middle-aged folks these days. We mustn’t discuss that, though – no sir!
    Keep those heads buried firmly in the sand.

    RIP to this poor man.

    • Robert Scharba says:

      If you have something to say…just say it.

    • Jan Kaznowski says:

      What’s your point here ?

    • Micaela Bonetti says:

      Not only young or middle-aged folks: infants, kids, teenagers!
      The two years old baby of friends of mine.
      And no, I’m not burying my head into the sand, and never will.
      Riposate tutti in pace, o voi entrati “in questa selva oscura” (Dante. Inferno)

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    This is terribly sad. Many people are just getting up a full head of steam in their 50s, particularly married people whose children have left the nest, being free to explore their own passions.

    • J Barcelo says:

      And somewhere around age 50 the lifestyle one lived decades earlier finally catches up. The Grim Reaper is patient. That’s why it’s so important for everyone to have annual physicals and evaluations for colon cancer, coronary artery disease, diabetes and all the other diseases caused by lifestyle. Then change! Mr. Cohrs made so many great contributions to our musical lives and had so much more work to do. RIP. And thanks for that Bruckner 9th!

  • Jobim75 says:

    Unfortunately, Rattle ‘s Bruckner is completely uninteresting…..

  • Zandonai says:

    I doubt many concertgoers care too much which edition of Bruckner symphony they’re hearing. They are more interested in the conductor.

  • P. Terry says:

    Not a big fan of Rattle in Bruckner. Another commentator complained about his “Shatneresque huffing and puffing”, with which I agree (just my opinion, I hasten to add).

  • Anthony Bridges says:

    Just come across this sad ‘news’.. We hear about the deaths of generally obscure pop-stars etc but even famous classical music conductors can pass without note in the West’s largely philistinic press and media.

    Ben’s great contribution and achievement was of course assisting in a completion of Bruckner 9. Brucknerians themselves may well be divided on the issue but it is surely a bonus to now have the choice of a 3-movement or thoroughly plausible 4-movement Ninth?

    That is certainly my own confirmed view.

    Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs R.I.P

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