Darmstädter Ferienkurse

The Darmstadt Summer Courses - or more precisely: " International Summer Courses for New Music" - are a two -yearly multi-week event in Darmstadt, explore and convey the latest trends in new music at the composers and instrumentalists in seminars and concerts.

History

They were (at that time cultural advisor and head of the cultural department of the city of Darmstadt) founded in 1946 by Wolfgang Stein corner, which they ( his death ) headed until 1961. The other leaders were Thomas Ernst (1962-1982) and Friedrich Hommel ( 1981-1994 ). From 1995 to 2008 Solf Schaefer organized the courses. With the beginning of 2009 was Thomas Shepherd the new Artistic Director of the International Summer Courses as well as Director of the International Music Institute Darmstadt (IMD ) ordered.

The summer courses were initially undertaken annually and each lasted about 12 days; since 1970 they are every two years, but held extended to 2-3 weeks. First venue was Kranichstein in Darmstadt, public buildings are used in Darmstadt since 1949. Organizer of the Summer School is the International Music Institute Darmstadt (IMD ), which was called before 1963 Kranichsteiner Music Institute.

Founded they were, among others, of a need to catch up, because after 1933 the international developments in Germany were systematically suppressed by the Nazis. The first vintages many works by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók were because even under the sign of the work-up, including were performed here with more dozen years late for the first time in Germany.

After the Second World War, the Summer School were the first functioning forum for contemporary music in Germany and were. Visit through the rain internationally recognized faculty as Theodor W. Adorno, René Leibowitz, Heinz- Klaus Metzger and later Carl Dahlhaus an institution for avanciertes composing In particular, the visit of " creators of new music " as Edgard Varèse, Olivier Messiaen, Ernst Krenek, John Cage, the aesthetics darlegten extremely detailed in composition courses was extremely fruitful and led to the international recognition of the institution.

Your embossing learned the lessons but by the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez and Luigi Nono (later Helmut Lachenmann and Brian Ferneyhough ), which by virtue of their radical thought and their theory the discussion about the avant-garde - the state of contemporary composing - certain; they were misunderstood as " Darmstadt School " apostrophized later.

Through a series of famous performers newly invented game techniques have been handed down to young musicians, in turn, in so-called " studio " concerts, playing the freshly created works of young composers. The Kranichsteiner Music Award for Young Artists and in 1972 also became important composers.

Thanks to the participation of other institutions, especially the public service broadcasting, a number of important works have been premiered today over the years.

Selection literature

• Darmstadt contributions to new music, published by the International Music Institute Darmstadt. Between 1958 and 1994, 20 numbers were issued ( which usually contain lectures and statistics). Here basic writings on new music first arrived.
• From Kranichstein the present 1946 - 1996th 50 years Darmstadt Summer Courses, Darmstadt 1996 A kind of catalog that contains many memories and vivid descriptions of stakeholders from the various decades of the courses..
• At the height of modernity, 4 volumes, edited by Borio and Hermann Danuser Gianmario, Freiburg 1997. Extensive collection of materials on key texts and images, as well as a detailed documentation of all seminars and concerts.
• Music concepts Sonderband Darmstadt documents I, Edition Music Review 1999. Likewise an extensive collection of documents.

Discography

• At the col legno appear for several years Documentation CDs with selected works, mostly world premieres and German premieres.