Gerd Kühr
Encyclopedia
Gerd Kühr, also Gerd Kuhr, (born 28 December 1952 in Maria Luggau
) is an Austrian
conductor, composer of classical music and academic teacher.
Kühr studied history, conducting and composition at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and took master classes in conducting with Gerhard Wimberger
, Hans Swarowsky
and Sergiu Celibidache
. He continued his studies of composition with Josef Friedrich Doppelbauer and Hans Werner Henze
.
In 1983 he collaborated with Henze, David Graham and Marcel Wengler
to compose the film music for Volker Schlöndorff
's Eine Liebe von Swann after Marcel Proust
.
His opera Stallerhof, to a libretto of Franz Xaver Kroetz
based on his own play, was premiered at the first Munich Biennale
in 1988, as a co-production with the Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Ulf Schirmer
conducted the premiere at the Kongresssaal of Deutsches Museum
. The play Stallerhof, a dialect play on a taboo subject matter, was premiered in 1972. A review of the opera in a production of the Theater Luzern remarks:
Kühr composed in 1997/99 the opera Tod und Teufel (Death and Devil) on a libretto of Peter Turrini
on a commission of the Theater Graz and the festival Steirischer Herbst on the occasion of the centennial of the opera house. Kühr composed the opera Agleia Federweiß in 2000/01 on a libretto of Petra Ernst, commissioned by the Jugendmusikfest Deutschlandsberg, a music festival for young people founded by Henze as part of the festival Steirischer Herbst.
Kühr taught from 1985 to 1994 in Graz, from 1992 to 1994 at the Mozarteum. Since 1995 he has been professor for composition at the Graz University of Music.
He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Composers' Prize
in 1995.
Lesachtal
The Lesachtal is a valley in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is the uppermost part of the valley formed by the Gail River, and stretches from the border between East Tyrol and Carinthia to Kötschach-Mauthen ....
) is an Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
conductor, composer of classical music and academic teacher.
Kühr studied history, conducting and composition at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and took master classes in conducting with Gerhard Wimberger
Gerhard Wimberger
Gerhard Wimberger is an Austrian composer and conductor.-Career:Wimberger studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg...
, Hans Swarowsky
Hans Swarowsky
Hans Swarowsky was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth and Jewish descent.Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss...
and Sergiu Celibidache
Sergiu Celibidache
- Biography :Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, and began his studies in music with the piano, after which he studied music, philosophy and mathematics in Bucharest, Romania and then in Paris...
. He continued his studies of composition with Josef Friedrich Doppelbauer and Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
.
In 1983 he collaborated with Henze, David Graham and Marcel Wengler
Marcel Wengler
Marcel Wengler is a Luxembourg composer and conductor. He also plays the guitar and the mandolin. From 1972–1997, he headed the Conservatoire de Luxembourg. Since 2000, he has been director of the Luxembourg Music Information Centre...
to compose the film music for Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff is a Berlin-based German filmmaker who has worked in Germany, France and the United States...
's Eine Liebe von Swann after Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
.
His opera Stallerhof, to a libretto of Franz Xaver Kroetz
Franz Xaver Kroetz
Franz Xaver Kroetz is a German author, playwright, actor and film director. His plays have been translated and performed internationally.-Life:Kroetz attended an acting school in Munich and the Max-Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna...
based on his own play, was premiered at the first Munich Biennale
Munich Biennale
The Munich Biennale is an opera festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater, literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial festival was created in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze and is held in even-numbered years over...
in 1988, as a co-production with the Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Ulf Schirmer
Ulf Schirmer
Ulf Schirmer is a German conductor. He studied at the Bremen Conservatory, and also at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with György Ligeti, Christoph von Dohnányi and Horst Stein....
conducted the premiere at the Kongresssaal of Deutsches Museum
Deutsches Museum
The Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of technology and science, with approximately 1.5 million visitors per year and about 28,000 exhibited objects from 50 fields of science and technology. The museum was founded on June 28, 1903, at a meeting of the Association...
. The play Stallerhof, a dialect play on a taboo subject matter, was premiered in 1972. A review of the opera in a production of the Theater Luzern remarks:
Kroetz's Stallerhof is a work about inability to communicate, which opens space for music. Gerd Kühr's music serves the function of expressing the feelings and situations in which people find themselves. With a fairly large chamber orchestra he provides a rich tapestry of colours and motives. There is expressionist music, which brings to mind. the inarticulacy and exploitation suffered by WozzeckWozzeckWozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
.
Kühr composed in 1997/99 the opera Tod und Teufel (Death and Devil) on a libretto of Peter Turrini
Peter Turrini
Peter Turrini is an Austrian leftist playwright.Born in Carinthia, Turrini has been writing since 1971, when his play Rozznjogd premiered at the Volkstheater, Vienna. A versatile author, he has written plays, screenplays, poems, and essays...
on a commission of the Theater Graz and the festival Steirischer Herbst on the occasion of the centennial of the opera house. Kühr composed the opera Agleia Federweiß in 2000/01 on a libretto of Petra Ernst, commissioned by the Jugendmusikfest Deutschlandsberg, a music festival for young people founded by Henze as part of the festival Steirischer Herbst.
Kühr taught from 1985 to 1994 in Graz, from 1992 to 1994 at the Mozarteum. Since 1995 he has been professor for composition at the Graz University of Music.
He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Composers' Prize
Ernst von Siemens Music Prize
The international Ernst von Siemens Music Prize is an annual music prize given by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste on behalf of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung , established in 1972. The foundation was established by Ernst von Siemens...
in 1995.
Operas
| Premiere | Title | Description | Libretto and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1988, Munich Biennale Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale is an opera festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater, literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial festival was created in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze and is held in even-numbered years over... |
Stallerhof | Opera, 90' | Franz Xaver Kroetz Franz Xaver Kroetz Franz Xaver Kroetz is a German author, playwright, actor and film director. His plays have been translated and performed internationally.-Life:Kroetz attended an acting school in Munich and the Max-Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna... , after his own play |
| 17 Sep 1999, Grazer Oper/ Steirischer Herbst | Tod und Teufel | Opera, 105' | Peter Turrini Peter Turrini Peter Turrini is an Austrian leftist playwright.Born in Carinthia, Turrini has been writing since 1971, when his play Rozznjogd premiered at the Volkstheater, Vienna. A versatile author, he has written plays, screenplays, poems, and essays... , after his own play (1990) |
| 24 Oct 2001, Deutschlandsberg Deutschlandsberg Deutschlandsberg is a town in Deutschlandsberg district of Styria, Austria. It covers an area of 24 km² and has a population of 7,983. It is located in southern Austria, near Slovenia and is approx. 35 km from Graz. Popular tourist attractions in that area include the Deutschlandsberg... |
Agleia Federweiß | Kleine Oper, 75' | Petra Ernst |