Heinz Bongartz was born in Krefeld, Germany. He studied music in his home town and at the Cologne Conservatory, where his teachers included the pianist Elly Ney and the conductor Fritz Steinbach. He began his musical career as a choral conductor and made his debut as an orchestral conductor at the Mönchengladbach Opera in 1923, leaving in the following year to pursue a typical career in the world of German opera houses and orchestras. Between 1924 and 1927 he conducted the Blüthner Orchestra in Berlin; this period was followed by appointments with the state orchestra of Meiningen (1926–1930) and the Gotha Opera (1930–1933). His first appointment as chief conductor was with the Kassel Opera (1933–1937), after which he served as chief conductor at Saarbrücken (1937–1944) and with the Pfalz Orchestra, based at Ludwigshafen (1945).

After World War II Bongartz based himself in what was to become East Germany, where he enjoyed a long and distinguished career. During 1946 and 1947 he taught at the High School for Music in Leipzig and in 1947 he was appointed chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, the city’s principal symphonic orchestra after the Dresden Staatskapelle, which is based at the Dresden Opera. Bongartz led this orchestra until 1964, raising its musical standards as well as securing its financial future as a state institution in 1950. Among his many conducting pupils was Kurt Masur, who also later led the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. Bongartz was active as a guest conductor with the major East European orchestras, such as the Berlin Staatskapelle, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Dresden Staatskapelle, and the Berlin and Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestras. He also appeared in China, Cuba, and the former USSR; and received many awards, including the Gold Medal of the Gustav Mahler Society of Vienna in 1966.

Bongartz’s conducting style was typically Teutonic in its concern for a clear sense of musical architecture, unaffected delivery, and natural phrasing. At its best the results were deeply satisfying and faithful to the composer’s intentions. His discography is not large, but includes a number of fine performances, such as Reger’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart, Böcklin Suite, and Sinfonietta; Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6; the two Brahms Serenades and Dvořák’s Symphony No 7. He also conducted one of the earliest recordings of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 1 which had a considerable circulation in the USA and United Kingdom.

© Naxos Rights International Ltd. — David Patmore (A–Z of Conductors, Naxos 8.558087–90).