Michael Denhoff

Michael Denhoff ( born April 25, 1955 in Ahaus ) is a German composer and cellist.

Life

Denhoff lives and works since 1982 in Bonn. He completed his studies at the Musikhochschule in Cologne. His teachers include Günter Bialas and Hans Werner Henze (composition), Siegfried Palm and Erling Blöndal Bengtsson (cello ) and the Amadeus Quartet (chamber music). As a composer and chamber musician, he has held various educational tasks, such as a teaching composition at the University of Mainz (1984 /85) and a visiting professor at the National Conservatory in Hanoi (1997 to 1999). Since 2008 he is a professor of chamber music at the Robert - Schumann-Hochschule in Dusseldorf.

As a conductor, he led from 1985 to 1992 he co-founded the " Academic Orchestra Bonn ". In addition, he has also conducted other orchestras and ensembles, such as CD-recording the "Pro Nova Ensemble" of the Duisburg Philharmonic. As a cellist he formed with his brother John Denhoff (violin) and pianist Richard Brown, the " Denhoff - Piano Trio". Since 1992 he is member of the " Ludwig Quartet Bonn "; In addition, he works closely with the pianist Birgitta Wollenweber.

He has received several prizes and awards, including the Prize for Music of the State of North Rhine -Westphalia (1976) and the Lower Saxony (1981 ), the Johann Wenzel Stamitz Prize ( 1977), the Bernd- Alois Zimmermann Price Cologne ( 1986), which Romstipendium at the Villa Massimo (1986 /87), the Westphalian Music Prize (1989 ), as well as the work scholarship "Villa la Collina " (1996). Most recently, he was in 2013 awarded the Gerda and Günter Bialas Price

Denhoff music has gained international attention and recognition. Ur and first found at various festivals, including: the International Beethoven Festival in Bonn, Munich Biennale, Music Triennale Cologne, the Ruhr Piano Festival, Witten Days for New Chamber Music, Hitzacker Summer Music Festival, day New music Hannover, Ensemblia Mönchengladbach, Budapest Spring Festival, Budapest Autumn Festival, Festival International du Domaine Forget, Europamusicale, Festival Latinoamericano de Música, Cantiere Internazionale d' Arte Montepulciano, Festival di Nuova Roma Consonanza, Saptamana Muzicii Contemporane Bucureşti, cultural weeks of the FRG in the Caucasus, Epidaurus Festival in Cavtat (Croatia).

In 2000 Denhoff was itself the promoter; together with pianist Susanne Kessel he organized in Bonn, the concert series " Jahr100KlavierStücke " in which in 50 concerts occurred many internationally renowned pianist and offered a chronological review of the piano music of the 20th century.

He also initiated in Bonn in 2008, the series WORD KLANGRAUM that leaves each with eight events a year presented its Artistic Director since 2009 mainly contemporary music and literature and engage in a mutual dialogue under changing Motti.

Music

Denhoff music is evidence of a close relationship with poetry and visual arts. Many orchestral and chamber works were inspired by poetry and literature or works of fine arts. So there are instrumental works and cycles to images Chagall, Klee, Kandinsky, Dürer and especially to Goya (El sueño de la razon produce monstruos 1982 Disasters of War 1983 Los disparates 1988). Recently emerged in the years 1996 to 2005, the five-part piano cycle sculpture, which was created as an interdisciplinary dialogue with the sculptor Wolfgang Ueberhorst.

In the literature, it was mainly Rainer Maria Rilke, Paul Celan, Samuel Beckett and Mallarmé, leave traces in his work have (including night fantasies 1982 Atemwende - piano cycle by Paul Celan 1984-87, Two once so one - Beckett Moments 1992, Mallarmé cycle 1995/96 ).

Characteristic of his compositional thinking are also cycles in the manner of a musical Diariums (Sound Diary 1984 Hebdomadaire 1990). These include, above all, the almost three-hour piano quintet " main path and Byways " in 1998, which contains the most important aspects of his music, referring to her musical tradition, but also the influences of literature and the visual arts as in a preliminary summary. Another cycle, the emergence period was also applied to one year back, his extensive melodies Project " verses " in which in addition to a solo version also various chamber music versions of the individual numbers exist that remain open to a certain extent in their respective instrumental arrangements. Last year was also produced in a weekly basis to be 52 numbers comprehensive vocal cycle " most beautiful songs ."

Denhoff compositional vocabulary reflects a subtle sense of harmony and form that has its roots in composers such as Bernd Alois Zimmermann ( about him Denhoff wrote his thesis ), Olivier Messiaen, Morton Feldman and György Kurtág are found. Not superficial virtuosity, rather introverted thoughtfulness and sometimes downright irritating simple transparency of the sound set are characteristic of many of his more recent works whose differentiated colors seem to define a unique form of beauty.

LPs, CDs, and SACDs with Denhoff work have been published, among others, the following labels: WERGO, COL LEGNO, Cybele, TELOS, MD G and CONFIDO. Print editions of his works were published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Edition Gravis, Ricordi / Mannheimer Musikverlag, Edition Moeck and Tonger.

Selections

Music Theatre

  • THE PELICAN - chamber opera based on Strindberg, Op 64

Oratory

  • DREAM BOOK OF PRISONERS for baritone, narrator, choir and orchestra, Op 51
  • IN UNUM DEUM - Credo for soprano, baritone, choir, organ and orchestra, Op 93
  • Magnificat for choir with two solo quartets, saxophone quartet and four percussionists op 98

Choir

  • VOZ MIA, CANTA, CANTA - song cycle on poems by Juan Ramón Jiménez, Op 37
  • THE DIMENSION OF STILL NESS op 58
  • CREDO op 93a

Singing

  • LE JARDIN DE MA MÉMOIRE - music with Guillaume Apollinaire for vocal quintet and saxophone quartet op 108
  • MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS - vocal cycle op 110 after 52 songs in sets of Michael Donhauser for mezzo- soprano, baritone, clarinet (s), viola, harp and piano
  • VISAGE DU DESTIN for male quartet and piano, Op 61
  • SHADOW SHAPES - Stele for the Droste for soprano, tenor ( & 4 toms ), harp and piano, Op 69
  • WITH CLOSED EYES - six poems by Heinz -Albert Heindrichs for soprano and piano, Op 45
  • HOW A LINE DARK BLUE SILENCE op 80 - Seven songs on poems by Selma Sea Tree Eisinger for mezzo-soprano and accordion
  • SILENCE, ET PUIS op 101 - fragments after last notations of Marguerite Duras for alto and viola

Orchestra

  • I Sinfonia op.11 for orchestra
  • Tempus IMPLETUM - Expressions of Time and Space ( Sinfonia II ) op 21
  • Melancolía - Approaches to a copper engraving by Dürer, Op 26
  • SOLITUDE - in memoriam W. Buchebner op 33
  • Disasters of War - Orchestra pictures by Goya, Op 36
  • NIGHT PICTURE ( Mahler moments ), Op 57
  • INTERIORS ... REMINISCENT op 71
  • MATCH for saxophone orchestra and bass drum, Op 90

Concert

  • Umbrae - in memoriam Bernd Alois Zimmermann - for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Op 13
  • OMAGGIO for Violin, Oboe and Orchestra, Op 40
  • TABLEAUX Sombres for Heckelphone and Orchestra, Op 60
  • REMARKS AND REVIEWS for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra, Op 68
  • CELLO CONCERTO op 109

Ensemble

  • OUVERT ... ... - Meditation For variable Instrumentation, Op 99
  • Mallarmé CYCLE - twelve quartets for twelve musicians, Op 75
  • Igitur - reading for chamber ensemble, Op 85
  • RUE Sedaine, 11PM for ensemble Op 104

Chamber Music

  • TWO ONCE SO ONE ( Beckett moments ) for string quartet, viola and cello op 66
  • Main path AND ASSOCIATED WAY - records for string quartet and piano, Op 83
  • SOUNDS AND SHADOWS for piano, string quartet and clarinet, Op 86 remote
  • 9 STREICHQUARTETTE ( op 1, op 19, " Mystique Barcarolles " op 30, op 55, "Since I atwain " op 66a, " frottages " op 70, op 73, " nel interno ", Op 79 " When from afar ... " op 83a)
  • 5 KLAVIERTRIOS (op. 7, Op 27, " Black Ballet " op 74.1, " Nocturne " op 74.2, " d'un Rêve Cueillaison " op 83b)
  • 4 SAXOPHONE QUARTETTE ( " against rates " op 39, " svolgimenti " op 46 " pnoxoud " op 59, Five Sacred Songs, Op 98a )
  • LOS disparate - sketches by Goya for trio basso op 54
  • WITHOUT WORDS - Six Poems for Violin and Piano, Op 111
  • CHAMPS DE MARS - Inventions by Marc Chagall for Viola and Piano, Op 9
  • TENEBRAE for viola and piano, Op 82
  • EL SUENO DE LA RAZON PRODUCE Monstruos - Goya Impressions for cello and piano, Op 32
  • WHEN NO WORDS ... AS for Piano and Cello, Op 77 remote
  • SEVEN BAGATELLEN for cello and piano, Op 92
  • CONTINGENT ... INS ... (in memoriam Luigi Nono ) for double bass and violin ( and playback of Kb & Vl. ) Op 97
  • Maramba ( in memory of Paula Köhlmeier ) for flute (also Baßfl. ) And Celesta, Op 100
  • FIVE EPIGRAMME for piano and percussion, Op 102
  • DISASTERS - The melodies Project 2009 op 107 ( various instruments from solo to larger ensemble )

Solo Works

  • NIGHT FANTASIES ( Rainer Maria Rilke - poems ) for guitar, Op 31
  • FROM LOWER EMERGENCY - Referral for organ, Op 41
  • MONOLOGE I - V for five soloists, Op 50, 1-5 (I " Sotto voce " registered for Piano, II " But if ... " for Campanula, III " Poco a poco " for bass flute and tape, IV " in the spaces " for harp, V " M'illumino d' immenso " for mezzo- soprano and 3 gongs)
  • BREATHING TOGETHER - piano cycle by Paul Celan, Op 49, 1-7
  • Hebdomadaire - 52 pieces of the year for one pianist, Op 62
  • SCULPTURES - piano cycle, op 76, 1-5
  • INVENTIONEN I - XII for Player Piano ( s ) op 88, 1-12
  • NIENTE ... AL ... for piano, Op 95
  • NIGHT SHADE PLANTS - Nine Pieces for Piano, Op 96
  • THE MEMORY AND THE HAND ( meditation on five notes ) for piano, Op 103
  • LIGHT (E) PIECES - Eleven sketches for an Exhibition for Piano, Op 105

Writings

Silence and reverse - Reflections on the phenomenon of time, in music lyrics, Issue 24 (1988 ), pp. 27-38

Rituel by Pierre Boulez - Comments on the conception of space and time, in: Festschrift for the 60th birthday of Prof. Dr. Emil Platen, Bonn (1985 ), pp. 208-219

Max Reger. A rightly underestimated for the music of 20th century composer? A music survey, in: REGER STUDIES 4, Breitkopf & Hartel (1989 ), pp. 105-124, 233-253

From the image - sound to the sound - image - the relationship between image and music in my pieces, in: NZfM 1993/6, pp. 14-19

Absent - present. Time, memory and remembrance in music. - Lecture at the 6th small Ahaus University Day 2006, in: Aftermath - Volume 7: " Sense and of the difficulty of remembering ." Lit- Verlag Berlin 2008, pp. 124-141

"Sculpture is sound sculpture is sound ... " - experiences of a non-verbal art conversation. Presentation at the Symposium music for images, Innsbruck 2010, in: As pictures sound ( eds. Luke Christensen, Monika Fink), Lit- Verlag Wien, 2011, pp. 249-259

The influence of Goya on my musical language. In: Goya in the media dialogue, cultures and disciplines (ed. Ursula Hennigfeld ), Rombach Freiburg -Verlag, 2013, pp. 273-288

Caucasus Mountains Paul Klee The Disasters of War Gustav Mahler Integrated Authority File
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