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Wolfgang Rihm

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Wolfgang Rihm
Rihm at the Kölner Philharmonie in 2007
Born(1952-03-13)13 March 1952
Karlsruhe, Württemberg-Baden, West Germany
Died27 July 2024(2024-07-27) (aged 72)
Ettlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
EducationHochschule für Musik Karlsruhe
Occupations
  • Composer
  • Academic teacher
Organizations
Known for
Awards

Wolfgang Rihm (13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024)[1] was a German composer of contemporary classical music and teacher. One of the most influential post-war European composers, Rihm was among the leading German composers of his time.[2][3] A prolific composer, his total output numbers more than 500 works,[4] although he is particularly known for his operas.[3] Associated with the New Simplicity style earlier in his career, his style has since extended to what The Guardian described as a "bewildering variety of styles and sounds".[5]

He was musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been a composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival. He was honoured as Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2001.[6] His students include the composers Rebecca Saunders and Jörg Widmann.

Biography

Rihm was born on 13 March 1952, in Karlsruhe.[7] He finished both his school and his studies in music theory and composition at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Eugen Werner Velte [de] in 1972, two years before the premiere of his early work Morphonie at the 1974 Donaueschingen Festival[8] launched his career as a prominent figure in the European new music scene. Rihm's early work, combining contemporary techniques with the emotional volatility of Mahler and of Schoenberg's early expressionist period, was regarded by many as a revolt against the avant-garde generation of Boulez, Stockhausen (with whom he studied in 1972–73),[8] and others, and led to a large number of commissions in the following years. From 1973 to 1976 he studied composition with Klaus Huber in Freiburg im Breisgau.[9] Other teachers were Wolfgang Fortner and Humphrey Searle.[10] In the late 1970s and early 1980s his name was associated with the movement called New Simplicity.[11] In 1978 he became an instructor at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse.[12] Since 1985 Rihm has been professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe.[9] His work still continues to plough expressionist furrows, though the influence of Luigi Nono, Helmut Lachenmann and Morton Feldman, amongst others, has affected his style significantly.

Rihm was an extremely prolific composer, with hundreds of completed scores, a large portion of which are yet to be commercially recorded. (See the List of the compositions of Wolfgang Rihm, in German, or the IRCAM works list, in French). He does not always regard a finished work the last word on a subject—for example the orchestral work Ins Offene... (1990) was completely rewritten in 1992, and then used as the basis for his piano concerto Sphere (1994), before the piano part of Sphere was recast for the solo piano work Nachstudie (also 1994). (In 2002 Rihm also produced a new version of Nachstudie, Sphäre nach Studie, for harp, two double basses, piano and percussion, and also a new version of Sphere, called Sphäre um Sphäre, for two pianos and chamber ensemble.) Other important works include thirteen string quartets, the operas Die Hamletmaschine (1983–1986, text by Heiner Müller) and Die Eroberung von Mexico (1987–1991, based on texts by Antonin Artaud), over twenty song-cycles, the oratorio Deus Passus (1999–2000) commissioned by the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, the chamber orchestra piece Jagden und Formen (1995–2001), more than thirty concertos and a series of related orchestral works bearing the title Vers une symphonie fleuve. The New York Philharmonic premièred Rihm's 2004 commission Two Other Movements. In 2008 Rihm composed KOLONOS | 2 Fragments by Hölderlin after Sophokles for orchestra and countertenor, premiered in Bad Wildbad with the countertenor Matthias Rexroth.[13][14]

Invited by Walter Fink, he was the fifth composer featured in the annual Komponistenporträt of the Rheingau Musik Festival in 1995.[15] In 1995 he contributed Communio (Lux aeterna) to the Requiem of Reconciliation.[16] He received an honorary doctorate of the Free University of Berlin in 1998.[17] In 2003 he received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.[18]

In March 2010 the BBC Symphony Orchestra featured the music of Rihm in one of their 'total immersion' weekends at the Barbican Centre, London. Recordings from this weekend were used for three 'Hear and Now' programmes on BBC Radio 3 dedicated to his work.[19] On 27 July 2010, Rihm's opera Dionysos, based on Nietzsche's late cycle of poems Dionysian-Dithyrambs, had its world premiere at the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher, and designed by Jonathan Meese.[20][21] This performance was voted World Premiere of the Year (Uraufführung des Jahres) for 2010/11 by Opernwelt magazine.[22] He revised his Gegenstück (2006) for bass saxophone, percussion and piano, premiered by Trio Accanto on 16 August 2010 to celebrate the 80th birthday of Walter Fink.[23] Anne-Sophie Mutter premiered his violin concerto Lichtes Spiel (Light Games) in Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic on 18 November 2010.[24]

Awards

Honorary doctorates

Memberships

Notable students

For Rihm's notable students, see List of music students by teacher: R to S § Wolfgang Rihm.

Works

Source:[33]

Stage works

Orchestral works

  • Form / 2 Formen (second state)
  • Gejagte Form (first version)
  • Gejagte Form (second version)
  • IN-SCHRIFT (1995)
  • Ernster Gesang (1996)[35]
  • Jagden und Formen[36]
  • Jagden und Formen (state 2008)
  • Symphony No. 1, Op. 3
  • Symphony No. 2 (first and last movement)
  • Sub-Kontur for large orchestra
  • Vers une symphonie fleuve I–IV
  • IN-SCHRIFT 2 (2013)
  • Dunkles Spiel, for small orchestra
  • Schwarzer und roter Tanz, a fragment from "Tutuguri", for orchestra

Concertante

  • Violin
    • Lichtzwang
    • Gesungene Zeit
    • Lichtes Spiel
    • COLL'ARCO
  • Viola
    • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
    • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra No. 2
  • Violoncello
    • Konzert in einem Satz
    • Monodram
    • Styx und Lethe
    • Concerto en Sol (2018)[37]
  • String quartet
    • "CONCERTO"
  • Clarinet
    • Musik für Klarinette und Orchester
  • Oboe
    • Musik für Oboe und Orchester
  • Bassoon
    • Psalmus
  • Trumpet
    • Gebild
    • Marsyas, Rhapsodie für Trompete mit Schlagzeug und Orchester
  • Trombone
    • Canzona per sonare
  • Piano
    • Piano Concerto (1969)
    • Sphere
    • Sotto voce, a Notturno for piano and small orchestra
    • Sotto voce 2, a Capriccio for piano and small orchestra
    • Piano Concerto No. 2 (2014)
  • Harp
    • Die Stücke des Sängers
  • Organ
    • Unbenannt IV
  • Mixed instruments
    • Erster Doppelgesang, for viola, cello and orchestra
    • Zweiter Doppelgesang, for clarinet, cello, and orchestra
    • Dritter Doppelgesang, for clarinet, viola, and orchestra

Chamber works

  • Chiffre-Zyklus
    • Chiffre I (1982)
    • Nach-Schrift (eine Chriffre) (1982/2004)
    • Silence to be beaten (Chiffre II) (1983)
    • Chiffre III (1983)
    • Chiffre IV (1983/84)
    • Chiffre V (1984)
    • Bild (eine Chiffre) (1984)
    • Chiffre VI (1984)
    • Chiffre VII (1985)
    • Chiffre VIII (1985/88)

String quartet

  • Grave
  • Quartettstudie
  • String Quartet No. 1
  • String Quartet No. 2
  • String Quartet No. 3
  • String Quartet No. 4
  • String Quartet No. 5
  • String Quartet No. 6
  • String Quartet No. 7
  • String Quartet No. 8
  • String Quartet No. 9[38]
  • String Quartet No. 10
  • String Quartet No. 11
  • String Quartet No. 12
  • String Quartet No. 13
  • Fetzen (Shreds) 1-8, for string quartet and accordion

Vocal works

  • Voice and orchestra
    • Fünf Abgesangsszenen
    • Drei späte Gedichte von Heiner Müller
    • Ernster Gesang mit Lied
    • Frau / Stimme
    • Hölderlin-Fragmente
    • Lenz-Fragmente
    • Penthesilea Monolog
    • Rilke: Vier Gedichte

Voice and piano

  1. An Zelter
  2. Gingo biloba
  3. Dämerung senkte sich von oben
  4. Worte sind der Seele Bild
  5. Phänomen
  6. Selige Sehnsucht
  7. Parabase
  8. Lebensgenuss
  9. Höchste Gunst
  10. Heut und ewig
  11. Aus "Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahren"
  12. Willst du dir ein gut Leben zimmern
  13. An Zelter

Choral works

  • Choir a cappella
    • Sieben Passions-Texte
  • Choir with orchestra or ensemble
    • Dies, an oratorio for four soloists, two speakers, mixed choir, speaking choir, children's choir, organ and orchestra
    • Deus Passus, a passion for five soloists, choir, and orchestra
    • Astralis
    • Et Lux, for vocal quartet and string quartet
    • Vigilia
    • Symphony No. 3, for soprano, baritone, choir, and orchestra
    • Départ, for mixed choir, speaking choir, and 22 instrumentalists
    • Requiem-Strophen (2017)

Solo instruments

  • Grat (violoncello)
  • Über die Linie (violoncello)
  • Über die Linie VII (violin)

Piano solo

  • Auf einem anderen Blatt
  • Brahmsliebewalzer
  • Klavierstücke nos. 1–7 1970–80
  • Ländler 1979
  • Nachstudie
  • Zwiesprache 1999

Organ solo

  • Drei Fantasien

Writings

  • Rihm, Wolfgang (1997). Mosch, Ulrich (ed.). Ausgesprochen: Schriften und Gespräche (in German). Winterthur: Amadeus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7957-0395-0.
  • Rihm, Wolfgang; Brinkmann, Reinhold (2001). Musik Nachdenken: Reinhold Brinkmann und Wolfgang Rihm im Gespräch (in German). Regensburg: ConBrio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-932581-47-2.
  • Rihm, Wolfgang (2002). Mosch, Ulrich (ed.). Offene Enden: Denkbewegungen um und durch Musik (in German). Munich: Hanser Verlag. ISBN 978-3-446-20142-2.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Leyrer, Georg (27 July 2024). "Ein Großer der Neuen Musik: Deutscher Komponist Wolfgang Rihm gestorben". kurier.at (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  2. ^ Williams 2013, p. 1.
  3. ^ a b Häusler 2005.
  4. ^ Mattenberger, Urs (10 August 2019). "Komponist Wolfgang Rihm: "Fühle mich wie ein Kriegsveteran"". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). St. Gallen. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  5. ^ Service, Tom (24 September 2012). "A guide to Wolfgang Rihm's music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Prof. Wolfgang Rihm, Ph.D. honoris causa | University of Music". hfm-karlsruhe.de. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Free-spirited German composer Wolfgang Rihm at 65 | DW | 13 March 2017". DW.COM. Deustche Welle. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b Büning, Eleonore (13 March 2012). "Er macht ja doch, was er will!". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Frankfurt. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b Hagedorn, Volker (22 March 2012). "Taumelnd durch Dschungel und Feuer". Die Zeit (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  10. ^ Angermann, Klaus (2016). "Wolfgang Rihm". In Bermbach, Udo (ed.). Oper im 20. Jahrhundert: Entwicklungstendenzen und Komponisten (in German). Springer Verlag. p. 601. ISBN 978-3-476-03796-1.
  11. ^ Heidenreich, Achim (2000). "Der Komponist – das subjektive Wesen". neue musikzeitung (in German). Regensburg. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  12. ^ Fulker, Rick (13 March 2017). "Free-spirited German composer Wolfgang Rihm at 65". dw.com. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Wolfgang Rihm: KOLONOS". universaledition.com. Vienna: Universal Edition. 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  14. ^ Wilske, Hermann (30 September 2008). "Rossini und Rihm in Wildbad". neue musikzeitung. Regensburg. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Universal Edition trauert um Wolfgang Rihm (1952-2024)". presseportal.de (in German). 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  16. ^ Rihm, Wolfgang (18 August 1995). "Communio (Lux aeterna)". Ressources. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  17. ^ Dümling, Albrecht (23 November 1998). "Der Ort der Musik". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  18. ^ Schwenger, Dietmar (31 January 2003). "Wolfgang Rihm erhält Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis". Musikwoche (in German). Munich. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  19. ^ Hear and Now: Wolfgang Rihm: Episode 1 BBC, March 2010
  20. ^ Büning, Eleonore (29 July 2010). "Ich bin dein La-La-La-Labyrinth". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Frankfurt. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  21. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (1 August 2010). "A Nietzschean Plunge Into Sensual Labyrinths". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  22. ^ "Das Herz der Opernwelt schlägt nun in Brüssel". Badische Zeitung (in German). Freiburg. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  23. ^ Hauff, Andreas (8 September 2010). "Ehrungen und Raritäten. Die Endphase beim Rheingau-Musik-Festival". nmz online (in German). neue musikzeitung. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  24. ^ Vivien Schweitzer (19 November 2010). "Pairing Wolfgangs From Two Eras". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Prof. Wolfgang Rihm, Ph.D. honoris causa". Karlsruhe University of Music. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  26. ^ "Pour le Mérite: Wolfgang Rihm" (PDF). www.orden-pourlemerite.de. 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Jens Malte Fischer und Wolfgang Rihm". Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz (in German). 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Wolfgang Rihm erhält den Robert Schumann-Preis für Dichtung und Musik". Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz (in German). 28 October 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  29. ^ Neuhoff, Bernhard (28 February 2019). "Wolfgang Rihm erhält Deutschen Musikautorenpreis: "Meine Musik ist nicht ängstlich"". br-klassik (in German). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  30. ^ a b c d "Rihm". Akademie der Künste, Berlin (in German). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Wolfgang Rihm". Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg (in German). 3 October 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  32. ^ "Members". European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  33. ^ "Wolfgang Rihm: the composer's life and work". Universal Edition. 13 March 1952. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  34. ^ Wierzbicki, James (18 August 1991). "Non-Verbal Opera?". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 32. Retrieved 18 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Webster, Daniel (23 April 1997). "In Brahms celebration, orchestra's first Rihm". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia. pp. 37, 39. Retrieved 18 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com. continued on page 39.
  36. ^ Perry, Richard (26 May 2002). "The 'Jackson Pollock' of German avantgarde". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. p. 26. Retrieved 18 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ Schacher, Thomas (22 January 2020). "Wo so viel Licht ist, sollte auch ein bisschen Schatten sein". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Zürich. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  38. ^ Baker, Robert A. (2016). "The Hunt for Form in Wolfgang Rihm's Ninth String Quartet, 'Quartettsatz'". Perspectives of New Music. 54 (1): 197–244. doi:10.7757/persnewmusi.54.1.0197.

Sources

Further reading

Obituaries

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