Heidi Rieß

Rieß now lives in a senior citizens' complex in Leipzig (as of 2020) and campaigns for dignified ageing. She gives concerts there on her piano, often with music students from the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, for her fellow residents. "With every stroke on the keys, memories from the past come flooding back – of her time as a singer, concerts with Peter Schreier, performances with the Dresdner Kreuzchor or the Leipziger Gewandhausorchester. " Or in her own words: "I used to go on concert tours in Japan, today I'm happy about every trip with my electric chair."

After graduating, Rieß herself taught at the Hochschule in Leipzig, first as an assistant and later as senior assistant. In 1992 she was appointed professor of singing. After 35 years of teaching, by 2003 she had trained over one hundred professional singers.

In addition to teaching at the university level, Rieß has also pursued her own artistic career as a concert singer. Her first highlight was winning First Prize at the Johann Sebastian Bach International Competition in 1968, and she achieved a Second Prize at the Geneva International Music Competition in 1968. A First Prize was not awarded here. She achieved further first prizes at the Sofia Singing Competition and at the Robert Schumann International Competition for Pianists and Singers in Zwickau in 1969.

Heidi Rieß (also Heidi Rieß-Berthold, Heidi Riess-Berthold and Heidi Berthold-Rieß, Heidi Berthold-Riess, born 12 May 1943) is a German contralto and music educator.

Rieß was born in 1943 in Chemnitz as the daughter of Irma and Heinz Rieß. She first learned the profession of stenographer. From 1960 to 1962 she was involved in the movement Young Talents in the GDR, which aimed to promote artistically talented children and young people by providing them with public performance opportunities. There Rieß took on leading roles. These opened up the opportunity for her to study at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig with Eva Fleischer. In 1968, she successfully completed these studies. Rieß had twice received a Mendelssohn Scholarship.