Mathieu Lange

Lange's cultural achievements over a quarter of a century were honoured by the award of the Music Prize of the German Critics (1952) and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (18 September 1967). A long and wide-ranging oeuvre is also evidenced by numerous recordings, in particular with the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR).

In Berlin, Lange devoted himself to other musical tasks in addition to his intensive work with the Sing-Akademie: In the Tribune he performed Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat in a remarkable series of more than 60 performances at the end of 1950; in 1951 Boris Blacher's Romeo and Juliet was heard in the same theatre and one year later the premiere of Wolfgang Fortner's pantomime The Widow of Ephesus. In the Berlin Festival Weeks he brought out Claudio Monteverdi's Marienvesper as a German premiere in 1952, and in 1953, L'incoronazione di Poppea in the Hebbel-Theater. In the Berliner Festwochen he performed - a small sensation - previously unknown works by 13-year-old Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy which he had discovered.

In 1950, Lange was appointed director of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin as successor of Georg Schumann. He first appeared on the conductor's podium there on 20 November 1949 for the Brahms Requiem. (Georg Schumann was acting director until his death in 1952).

In 1948 Walter Felsenstein invited him to the Komische Oper Berlin in East Berlin. By 1941/42 Berlin's Deutsche Oper Berlin had already engaged him for guest performances.

Together with Wolfgang Steinecke, Lange played a decisive role in the establishment of the Darmstädter Ferienkurse which was completely destroyed by war in 1945. As musical director for opera, symphony and choir concerts, he was highly respected.

Mathieu Lange ( 28 January 1905 – 25 May 1992) was a German musician, conductor and from 1952 to 1973 director of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. He hadn't gone by his first name Carl since 1950.