Helmuth Rilling

German conductor, organist and educator, born May 29, 1933 in Stuttgart; died February 11, 2026 in Leonberg, Germany.
He studied organ at the Stuttgart College of Music, in Rome and in Siena. In 1954, while still a student, Helmuth Rilling founded his first choir, the 40-member [a=Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart], with which he gained an international reputation. From 1957 he was organist and choirmaster at the Stuttgart Gedächtniskirche. From the mid 1960s he was leader of the [a=Bachcollegium Stuttgart] and the [a=Frankfurter Kantorei], from 1969 to 1986 he was professor at the Frankfurt Music College.
First principal conductor of between 1996 to 1998.
father of and , brother of .