Helmuth Rahnsch

Helmuth Rahnsch (also frequently misspelled as Helmut Rahnsch or Helmut Ransch) was born on 26 March 1920 in Tetschen (then in Czechoslovakia, now called Decin in the Czech Republic). He evidently displayed musical talent from an early age, as he studied music at the Dresden Conservatory alongside his regular schooling during the final years of his secondary education. After graduating from school in 1939, he moved to Salzburg to study at the Mozarteum under Clemens Krauss, Elly Ney, and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. He successfully completed his studies there in April 1941. 
Following his graduation, Rahnsch initially worked as a repetiteur at the Salzburg Landestheater. From 1942 onwards, Helmuth Rahnsch was conscripted into military service and served as an Obergefreiter (Senior Lance Corporal) in the Wehrmacht. On 7 March 1945, he deserted and fled to Prague. From there, he returned to Germany and worked as a music teacher at the Peißnitz School in Halle (Saale) from 1945 to 1947. In 1947, he was appointed Kapellmeister at the municipal theatre in Köthen, a position he held until 1949. In October 1950, Rahnsch was appointed lecturer in music theory at the State Conservatory in Berlin. He evidently took advantage of the opportunities for further study available there, as during the 1951/52 academic year he is listed as a Meisterschüler (master student) of Hanns Eisler.
Rahnsch became a citizen of the newly founded German Democratic Republic (GDR) and, in the years that followed, established a reputation there primarily as a composer. In 1951, the Berliner Zeitung named him as one of the country's promising young composers, alongside Günter Kochan, Dietrich Manicke, Andre Asriel, and Herbert Baumann.
There is no information about the activities of Helmuth Rahnsch after 1958, but he died around 1980; the exact date of his death is unknown.

His catalogue of works includes the orchestral "Sinfonia germanina", a Divertimento for 13 instruments, "Marienleben" for four solo voices and orchestra based on texts by Rainer Maria Rilke, "Lied vom Land" (text by Kurt Huhn), and the "Helgolandlied", composed jointly with Andre Asriel for the 1951 World Festival of Youth and Students in Berlin. In addition, Rahnsch composed numerous incidental scores for amateur theatre and puppet theatre productions, including Cinderella (Aschenbrödel), The Four Seasons (Die vier Jahreszeiten), and The Valiant Little Tailor (Das tapfere Schneiderlein).

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the "Variationen über ein Thema von Mozart" op.5 for piano by Helmuth Rahnsch. According to the manuscript the work was composed in June 1942 at the "Eastern Front". Helmuth Rahnsch dedicated the work to his piano professor Elly Ney.