Helmut Winschermann was born in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, on March 22, 1920. Following studies in Essen, Germany, and Paris, he launched his career as an orchestral oboist. In 1939 he became a member of the Municipal Orchestra of Oberhausen.
In 1945 he was appointed principal oboe of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He later held the same post with the Hessen Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1948 he joined the faculty at the (Staatliche) Hochschule für Musik Detmold and was appointed chair of the oboe department in 1956. The watershed year in Winschermann's career was 1960, when he founded the German Bach Soloists, a period-instrument ensemble devoted not only to the works of J.S. Bach, but to those of other Baroque composers and even to some from the Classical period, like Mozart (17 church sonatas) and Haydn. The group also performs vocal music.
Initially, Winschermann continued to play oboe in the GBS while also serving as conductor. Eventually, however, he abandoned the dual roles and largely appeared in concert as the ensemble's conductor. Throughout the 1960s and beyond Winschermann and the GBS made countless recordings and regularly toured, making 14 appearances in Japan alone by 1996! From about the early '80s its popularity has faded a bit owing to the appearance of other, supposedly more authentic Baroque groups. In 1992 Winschermann was made an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. Winschermann and his ensemble have remained active in the new century, though they have made few new recordings., Rovi