Ruth Zechlin

Ruth Zechlin (22 June 1926 – 4 August 2007) was a German composer.

Ruth Oschatz was born in Grosshartmannsdorf, where she began piano lessons at the age of five years, and wrote her first composition at the age of seven. From 1943 to 1949 she studied music theory with Johann Nepomuk David and Wilhelm Weismann, church music and organ with Karl Straube and Günther Ramin and piano with Rudolf Fischer and Anton Rohden at the Music Academy in Leipzig. After she completed the state exam, she worked at the Academy for a year as a lecturer and also worked as a deputy organist at the Nikolai Church in Leipzig.

In 1951 she married pianist Dieter Zechlin, and the marriage lasted until 1972 when the couple divorced. Ruth Zechlin gained lectureship in music theory at the German College of Music in Berlin in 1986, where she taught harpsichord and studied harmony, counterpoint, form, orchestration and composition. After 1969 she was professor of composition at the Academy of Arts and taught a master class in composition. After her retirement in 1986, Zechlin continued teaching as a visiting professor. Beginning in 1990, she was a member of the DDR Academy of Arts, Berlin and served as vice president of that organization. From 1997 she was a member of the Free Academy of the Arts of Mannheim, and in 1998 became an honorary member of the German Music Council.

Zechlin composed works for instrumental and vocal performance and stage works, as well as music for radio plays, documentaries and TV movies. She was an active conductor, harpsichordist and organist, and received numerous awards for her work. Her students included Gerd Domhardt, Thomas Böttger and Georg Katzer.

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