Heiner Goebbels
Encyclopedia
Heiner Goebbels is a German
composer
, music director
and professor at Justus-Liebig-University
in Gießen
and at the European Graduate School
in Saas-Fee
, Switzerland.
Goebbels, who studied Sociology and Music in Frankfurt/Main, is a composer notable for his mixture of styles, drawing from sources as varied as classical music, jazz, and rock music. He started playing Eisler
ian music in a duo with saxophonist Alfred Harth
and composing music for theatre, film, and ballet, and has continued to do so, although he has since then broadened his repertoire to concerts and his oeuvre has includes the opera Landschaft mit entfernten Verwandten (Landscape with Distant Relatives, 2002).
Goebbels co-founded the avant-rock group
Cassiber
(1982–1992) with Harth, Chris Cutler
and Christoph Anders. They toured extensively across Europe
, Asia
and North America
, and made five albums. In October 1983 Cassiber (minus Anders) joined Duck and Cover, a commission from the Berlin Jazz Festival, for a performance of the "Berlin Programme" in West Berlin
, followed by another in February 1984 in East Berlin
. The "Berlin Programme" was created and directed by Goebbels.
Much of his better known work, however, originated from his close collaboration with the East German writer Heiner Müller
, resulting in stage compositions as well as shorter pieces (concerts as well as audio plays) loosely based on Müller texts, such as Verkommenes Ufer (Waste Shore, 1984), Die Befreiung des Prometheus (The Liberation of Prometheus, 1985), or Wolokolamsker Chaussee (Volokolamsk Highway, 1989). Goebbels' attempts to fill the space between theatre and opera left blank due to traditional genre borderline drawing has led to projects such as Schwarz auf Weiss (Black on White, 1996) or Die Wiederholung (The Repetition, 1997). The political nature of his work is often referred to by critics. His interest in Heiner Müller can partly be explained by the political character of Müller's texts, as may be the case with his interest in Bertolt Brecht
and Hanns Eisler
, works by the latter he used in composing his staged concert Eislermaterial (1998).
Goebbels' work is being increasingly acknowledged as he is being played and staged around the world and as his recordings are being published. In 2000 he collaborated with Piano Circus
and composer Richard Harris
to produce Scutigeras, which received a live BBC radio premiere in the UK. His Surrogate Cities, a work for big orchestra dating from 1994 and featuring texts from Paul Auster
, Heiner Müller, and Hugo Hamilton
, was nominated for a Grammy
in the category Best Classical Contemporary Composition
at the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2001
. His Eislermaterial won him another Grammy nomination at the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004
, this time in the category Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without conductor)
.
Heiner Goebbels is a professor at Justus-Liebig-University
in Gießen
, Institute for applied theater sciences and at the European Graduate School
in Saas-Fee
, Switzerland. In recent years Goebbels enjoyed the privilege of several guest professorships and nominations for composer-in-residence.
In September 2010, it was announced that Goebbels was the Artistic Director designate for the 2012-14 seasons of the Ruhrtriennale
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
and professor at Justus-Liebig-University
University of Giessen
The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...
in Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
and at the European Graduate School
European Graduate School
The European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
in Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, Switzerland.
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
ian music in a duo with saxophonist Alfred Harth
Alfred Harth
Alfred 23 Harth is a German multimedia artist, band leader, multi-instrumentalist musician, and composer who mixes genres in a polystylistic manner...
and composing music for theatre, film, and ballet, and has continued to do so, although he has since then broadened his repertoire to concerts and his oeuvre has includes the opera Landschaft mit entfernten Verwandten (Landscape with Distant Relatives, 2002).
Goebbels co-founded the avant-rock group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
Cassiber
Cassiber
Cassiber were a German avant-rock group founded in 1982 by German composer and saxophonist Alfred Harth, German composer, music-theatre director and keyboardist Heiner Goebbels, English drummer Chris Cutler from Henry Cow and German guitarist Christoph Anders...
(1982–1992) with Harth, Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
and Christoph Anders. They toured extensively across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and made five albums. In October 1983 Cassiber (minus Anders) joined Duck and Cover, a commission from the Berlin Jazz Festival, for a performance of the "Berlin Programme" in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, followed by another in February 1984 in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. The "Berlin Programme" was created and directed by Goebbels.
Much of his better known work, however, originated from his close collaboration with the East German writer Heiner Müller
Heiner Müller
Heiner Müller was a German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. Described as "the theatre's greatest living poet" since Samuel Beckett, Müller is arguably the most important German dramatist of the 20th century after Bertolt Brecht...
, resulting in stage compositions as well as shorter pieces (concerts as well as audio plays) loosely based on Müller texts, such as Verkommenes Ufer (Waste Shore, 1984), Die Befreiung des Prometheus (The Liberation of Prometheus, 1985), or Wolokolamsker Chaussee (Volokolamsk Highway, 1989). Goebbels' attempts to fill the space between theatre and opera left blank due to traditional genre borderline drawing has led to projects such as Schwarz auf Weiss (Black on White, 1996) or Die Wiederholung (The Repetition, 1997). The political nature of his work is often referred to by critics. His interest in Heiner Müller can partly be explained by the political character of Müller's texts, as may be the case with his interest in Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
and Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
, works by the latter he used in composing his staged concert Eislermaterial (1998).
Goebbels' work is being increasingly acknowledged as he is being played and staged around the world and as his recordings are being published. In 2000 he collaborated with Piano Circus
Piano Circus
Piano Circus is a musical ensemble consisting of six pianists.The original six-piano ensemble formed in 1989 to perform Steve Reich's Six Pianos...
and composer Richard Harris
Richard Harris (composer)
Richard Harris is a London-based composer, arranger, transcriber, teacher and pianist.Richard Harris studied composition and orchestration at the University of Edinburgh, where his tutors included Kenneth Leighton...
to produce Scutigeras, which received a live BBC radio premiere in the UK. His Surrogate Cities, a work for big orchestra dating from 1994 and featuring texts from Paul Auster
Paul Auster
Paul Benjamin Auster is an American author known for works blending absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and the search for identity and personal meaning in works such as The New York Trilogy , Moon Palace , The Music of Chance , The Book of Illusions and The Brooklyn Follies...
, Heiner Müller, and Hugo Hamilton
Hugo Hamilton
-Life:Hamilton's mother was a German who travelled to Ireland in 1949 for a pilgrimage, married an Irishman, and settled in the country. His father was a militant nationalist who insisted that his children should speak only German or Irish, but not English, a prohibition the young Hugo resisted...
, was nominated for a Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the category Best Classical Contemporary Composition
Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition
The Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition was first awarded in 1961. This award was not presented from 1967 to 1984.The award has had several minor name changes:...
at the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2001
Grammy Awards of 2001
The 43rd Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001. Steely Dan was the biggest winner winning three awards including Album of the Year for Two Against Nature. U2 was also a big winner winning three awards as well; including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Beautiful Day. Dr...
. His Eislermaterial won him another Grammy nomination at the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004
Grammy Awards of 2004
The 46th Grammy Awards were held on the February 8, 2004. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The big winners were Outkast, who won three awards including Album of the Year & Beyoncé Knowles, who won 5 Awards...
, this time in the category Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without conductor)
Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance has been awarded since 1997. In its early years, its title included the addition ""....
.
Heiner Goebbels is a professor at Justus-Liebig-University
University of Giessen
The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...
in Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
, Institute for applied theater sciences and at the European Graduate School
European Graduate School
The European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
in Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, Switzerland. In recent years Goebbels enjoyed the privilege of several guest professorships and nominations for composer-in-residence.
In September 2010, it was announced that Goebbels was the Artistic Director designate for the 2012-14 seasons of the Ruhrtriennale
Ruhrtriennale
The Ruhrtriennale is an annual music and arts festival in the northwestern area of Germany which runs between mid-August and mid-October. It was founded in 2002 by the government of North Rhine-Westphalia with Gerard Mortier, the impresario and former artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, as...
.
External links
- Heiner Goebbels site
- Heiner Goebbels Faculty Page at European Graduate SchoolEuropean Graduate SchoolThe European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
. (Biography, bibliography and video lectures) - Interview (1997)
- Heiner Goebbels on ECM Records