Born in Freiburg im Breisgau the son of a horn player, Köhler studied harp at the Musikhochschule Freiburg. From 1942, he worked at the Theater Heilbronn as a harpist and repetiteur. During World War II he was a Funker. He conducted from 1946 in Freiburg, promoted in 1952 to 1. Kapellmeister. From 1954, he worked at the opera in Düsseldorf. From 1957, he conducted at the Cologne Opera, and later became its Generalmusikdirektor. He conducted there in 1958 the first staged performance of Hans Werner Henze's ballet Das Vokaltuch der Kammersangerin Rosa Silber, with choreography by. He was also director of the Opernstudio of the Hochschule für Musik Köln. Köhler was GMD in Saarbrücken from 1964 to 1974, and simultaneously was professor of conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Saar. The sopranoInge Borkh recalled that Köhler was called to the Staatsoper Stuttgart to step in to prepare Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten in 1970 because he had an understanding of the singers' breathing techniques. From 1974 to 1988, Köhler was GMD at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. He presented an unusual repertoire, including Auber's Die Stumme von Portici and Wagner's Rienzi. Köhler conducted a performance during the Internationale of 1979 which was recorded live, with Gerd Brenneis as Rienzi, Jeannine Altmeyer as Irene and as Adriano. He revived operas by Siegfried Wagner, holding days devoted to the composer twice, with concert performances of Sternengebot in 1977, and of Sonnenflammen in 1979. Köhler conducted premieres of operas by Volker David Kirchner, Die Trauung in 1975 and Das kalte Herz in 1981. He appeared as a guest conductor internationally with notable orchestras. From 1989, Köhler was chief conductor at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm. He had conducted the Kungliga Hovkapellet first in 1975, and had the position of Hovkapellmästare from 1992 to 2005. In Stockholm, he conducted Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman, Franz von Suppé's Boccaccio, Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Elektra and Arabella by Richard Strauss. He conducted concerts such as Orff's Carmina Burana and the Swedish first performance of Mozart's Il Re Pastore. A ballet performance used as music Rimskij-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Bizet's Symphony in C, Arvo Pärt's Cantus in MemoriamBenjamin Britten and Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss. Köhler's work is documented in recordings for radio and television, as well as in commercial releases. He conducted excerpts from his own works for WERGO, with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and the Königliche Hofkapelle Stockholm. He recorded in 1993 Der tapfere Soldat by Oscar Straus with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and principal singers Johannes Martin Kränzle as Bumeru, Caroline Stein as Nadina Popff, and John Dickie as Alexius Spiridoff. Köhler wrote his autobiography in 2003, with the same title as his operetta, Alles Capriolen. and the subtitle Ein Jahrhundert im Musiktheater. He died in Wiesbaden on 12 September 2017.
Awards
In 1978, Köhler was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He was an honorary member of the Richard-Wagner-Verband of Saarland, and an honorary member of the Verband in Wiesbaden and of the Hessisches Staatstheater. He received the title Hovkapellmästare from the King of Sweden. In 2009, he received a Kulturpreis from Wiesbaden. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, the orchestra in Wiesbaden arranged a concert for him.
