Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor [BWV582] played by Karl Ritcher (15th October 1926 - 15th February 1981) who was a German conductor, organist, and harpsichordist. He was born in Plauen and studied first in Dresden, where he was a member of the Dresdner Kreuz choir and later in Leipzig, where he received his degree in 1949. In the same year, he became organist at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach once held the position as Musical Director. In 1951, he moved to Münich, where he taught at the conservatory and was cantor and organist at St. Mark's Church. He also conducted the Münich Bach-Choir starting in 1954 and the Münich Bach-Orchestra. In the 1960s and 1970s, he did a great deal of recording and undertook tours to Japan, the United States, Canada, Latin-America, and Eastern Europe including the Soviet Union. While staying in a hotel in Münich in 1981, Karl Richter died from a heart attack, aged 54. He was buried in Enzenbühl 8 days later.
