Hugo Distler

August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942) was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer. Life and career Born in Nuremberg, Distler attended the Leipzig Conservatory from 1927 to 1931, first as a conducting student with piano as his secondary subject, but changing later, on the advice of his teacher, to composition and organ. He studied there with Martienssen (piano), Günther Ramin (organ) and Grabner (harmony). In 1937 Distler was appointed as a lecturer at the Württemberg Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart, where he also directed its two choirs. In 1940 he moved to Berlin to teach and conduct at the Hochschule für Musik there, and in 1942 he was named the conductor of the State and Cathedral Choir. However, his suicide was probably not a direct result of antagonistic government pressure; “rather, it appears that he saw the futility of attempting to serve both God and Nazis, and came to terms with his own conscience unequivocally.” He is buried in the Stahnsdorf South-Western Cemetery. Music Distler enjoyed his first success in 1935 at the official Kassel Music Days (Kasseler Musiktage). He achieved his greatest public success in 1939 at the German Choral