Michael von Biel

Michael von Biel (* June 30, 1937 in Hamburg) is a German composer, cellist and painter.

Life and work

From Biel, born in 1937 in Hamburg, studied in Toronto, Vienna, New York (including at Morton Feldman ), London and Cologne ( Karlheinz Stockhausen). From 1961 to 1963 he attended the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music. In 1964 he received a commission of the WDR for the electronic music -making. 1965/66 he was Composer in Residence at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Since 1966, Michael lived from Biel in Cologne, where he came into contact with artists in the Fluxus movement. In 1968/69 he studied with Joseph Beuys at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Since then, mainly works were created in the creative area. Since his wife's death in 2005 he lived in Tübingen.

From Biel composed, inter alia, three string quartets ( String Quartet No. 1, 1962; String Quartet No. 2, 1962; quartet with accompaniment, 1965), electronic art ( version 1963/64; declination, 1965), a cello concerto, many works for solo cello and piano music. Its Hunting (1966 ) for brass, bass, tape and mikrophonierte (Garden ) grill is probably partly influenced by Biel's contacts with artists in the Fluxus movement.

Compositions (selection )

  • For piano no.1 -3 (three piano pieces for Morton Feldman ), for piano four -hands ( 1960-61 )
  • Book for Three, for violin and two pianos, or three pianos ( 1961-62 )
  • Doubles, 29 pieces for violin and piano (1961 )
  • String Quartet No.. 1 (1962)
  • String Quartet No.. 2 (1963)
  • Version, electronic music for four loudspeaker groups ( 1963-64 )
  • Quartet with accompaniment, for string quartet and cello (1965 )
  • Declination, for alto voice, piano, 3 percussionists, harp, cello, contrabass, and electronics (1965 )
  • World I and II, action scores ( 1965-66 )
  • The Plain of S'cairn, for five or more winds and five or more strings (1966 )
  • Hunting for brass bass, contrabass, tape, and amplified barbecues (1966 )
  • Composition for orchestra (1968 )
  • German landscapes, for solo cello (1970 )
  • Cello Concerto ( 1971)
  • Practice piece, for solo cello with filtered feedback (1971 )
  • Preludes, for cello (1972 )
  • 13 traditional pieces, for 2 guitars ( 1974-77 )
  • Pieces for two guitars (1976 )
  • Fragment, for two electric guitars (1981 )
  • Nineteen Pieces for piano, synthesizer, glockenspiel, percussion, and electric guitar (1985 )
  • Twenty -eight Pieces for Piano ( 1987-89 )
  • Eight project ( top section ), for piano (1992 )
  • Pieces for piano (1992 )

Book publications

  • Portraits, Salon Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-389770-366-7
  • Be creative. In: Christian Julmi (ed.): Talking about creativity. Project Verlag, Bochum / Freiburg, 2013, pp. 147-161
Buffalo, New York Integrated Authority File
569282
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