Georg Ratzinger

Georg Ratzinger (15 January 1924) was a German Roman Catholic priest and conductor born in Pleiskirchen, Bavaria. He entered the Erzbischöfliche Kleine Seminar in Traunstein in 1935 and began playing the church organ at eleven. After military service in World War II, he entered the seminary of Munich and Freising in 1946, was ordained a priest in 1951, and studied church music at the Musikhochschule München, completing a masterclass in 1957. In 1964, he became Domkapellmeister of Regensburg Cathedral and director of the Regensburger Domspatzen, launching the choir’s first recordings in 1965 and leading over 1,000 concerts worldwide until his retirement in 1994. Under his baton, the choir issued landmark recordings such as Weihnachtskonzert (1980) and Missa Papae Marcelli (1985). He received numerous honours, including the Bayerischen Poetentaler (1976) and the Ehrendoktorwürde of the Pontificio Instituto di Musica Sacra (2000). He died in Regensburg at age 96.

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