Ronnefeld, Peter

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Ronnefeld, Peter

Ronnefeld, Peter , German conductor and composer; b. Dresden, Jan. 26, 1935; d. Kiel, Aug. 6, 1965. He studied with Blacher in Berlin and Messiaen in Paris. After winning the Hilversum conducting competition in 1955, he was asst. conductor at the Vienna State Opera (1958–61); served as chief conductor at the Theater der Stadt Bonn (1961–63); then was Generalmusikdirektor in Kiel from 1963 until his death. As a conductor, he specialized in modern music, but he also excelled in the Romantic repertoire; his own opera, Die Ameise (Düsseldorf, Oct. 21, 1961), had a fine reception. He also wrote a chamber opera, Nachtausgabe (Salzburg, 1956), 2 ballets, Peter Schlemihl (1955–56) and Die Spirale (1961), Concertino for Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, and Strings (1950), Sinfonie ’52 (1952), Rondo for Orch. (1954), 2 Episodes for Chamber Orch. (1956), a cantata, Quartar (1958), chamber music, and songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire