Jens Josef
Encyclopedia
Jens Josef is a German composer of classical music
, a flutist and academic.
, and took composition classes with Jörn Tegtmeyer, the director of church music of Hann. Münden
.
From 1989 to 1997 Josef studied at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt, flute with Peter Brock and Paul Dahme, and composition with Gerhard Müller-Hornbach. He finished his examinations in 1995, his concert examinations in 1997. He also studied flute with András Adorján and composition with Rainer Kunad.
He was a member of the Norddeutsche Philharmonie in Rostock
in 1992/93, and the flutist of the orchestra Saitensprünge in 1994/95. He has worked as a freelance artist, flutist, composer, teacher, and conductor. in 1997 he founded the ensemble Gruppe Kontraste together with Christian Ridil. In 1998 he was principal flute of the Junge Philharmonie Hessen-Thüringen. He has collaborated with the Mutare Ensemble in Frankfurt
.
Josef was a teacher at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt
from 2000 to 2006, and at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt from 2003 to 2006. He has been a teacher of the Musikakademie Kassel since 2006. He has participated in the educational project Ohrwurm-Projekt, a music project aiming at elementary school children.
His oratorio Vor langer Zeit. Stationen einer Stadt for speaker, two sopranos, baritone and ensemble, was premiered in 2000 in the Blasiuskirche, Hann. Münden.
The ensemble La Picassola commissioned him to write a piece for their first concert. He composed Musik für Flöte(n), Viola und Kontrabass nach dem Bild von Pablo Picasso "Bildnis seiner kleinen Tochter" (2001) (music for flute(s), viola and double bass inspired by Picasso's portrait of his little daughter) in four movements, premiered in the Foyer of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
.
That same year Josef arranged Schubert's Winterreise
for tenor and string quartet. It was recorded by Christian Elsner and the Henschel Quartet
in 2002, and performed in 2004 by Peter Schreier
and the Dresdner Streichquartett.
He played the flute in a trio concert at the Gasteig
, with Rudi Spring
(piano) and Graham Waterhouse
(cello), performing Martinů
's trio and the premiere of the flute version of Gestural Variations
; every composer contributed a Christmas carol
, Josef set Süßer die Glocken nie klingen. In 2010 he was the alto flutist in the premiere there of the song Im Gebirg (The Mountain) by Waterhouse on a poem by Hans Krieger
, with Martina Koppelstetter (mezzo-soprano), the composer and Christopher White (piano).
Josef's chamber music is recorded on a composer portrait CD Kammermusik, including Fünf Chansons nach Texten von François Villon
(for soprano, flute, clarinet and percussion), 26.6.1626 (concertante scene no. 2 for baritone, flute, violin, bassoon and piano), Bizarrerien (three songs and two intermezzi for soprano, alto flute and guitar), and the Musik für Flöte(n), Viola und Kontrabass, played by La Picassola.
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, a flutist and academic.
Career
Jens Josef received flute instructions from Rita Eggenweiler and Klaus Grünow, principal flute of the Staatstheater KasselStaatstheater Kassel
The Staatstheater Kassel is a state-owned and -operated theater in Kassel, Germany.- History :A permanent theatre house already existed in Kassel during the first decade of the 17th century. It stood immediately next to the Ottoneum near the State Theatre which is now used as a Natural History...
, and took composition classes with Jörn Tegtmeyer, the director of church music of Hann. Münden
Hann. Münden
Hann. Münden is the German official name of a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is located in the district of Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the river Weser. It has 28,000 inhabitants...
.
From 1989 to 1997 Josef studied at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt, flute with Peter Brock and Paul Dahme, and composition with Gerhard Müller-Hornbach. He finished his examinations in 1995, his concert examinations in 1997. He also studied flute with András Adorján and composition with Rainer Kunad.
He was a member of the Norddeutsche Philharmonie in Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
in 1992/93, and the flutist of the orchestra Saitensprünge in 1994/95. He has worked as a freelance artist, flutist, composer, teacher, and conductor. in 1997 he founded the ensemble Gruppe Kontraste together with Christian Ridil. In 1998 he was principal flute of the Junge Philharmonie Hessen-Thüringen. He has collaborated with the Mutare Ensemble in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
.
Josef was a teacher at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
from 2000 to 2006, and at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt from 2003 to 2006. He has been a teacher of the Musikakademie Kassel since 2006. He has participated in the educational project Ohrwurm-Projekt, a music project aiming at elementary school children.
His oratorio Vor langer Zeit. Stationen einer Stadt for speaker, two sopranos, baritone and ensemble, was premiered in 2000 in the Blasiuskirche, Hann. Münden.
The ensemble La Picassola commissioned him to write a piece for their first concert. He composed Musik für Flöte(n), Viola und Kontrabass nach dem Bild von Pablo Picasso "Bildnis seiner kleinen Tochter" (2001) (music for flute(s), viola and double bass inspired by Picasso's portrait of his little daughter) in four movements, premiered in the Foyer of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden is the State Theatre of the German state Hesse in the capital Wiesbaden, producing operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. It is also known as Staatstheater Wiesbaden or Theater Wiesbaden...
.
That same year Josef arranged Schubert's Winterreise
Winterreise
Winterreise is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert , a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two great song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin...
for tenor and string quartet. It was recorded by Christian Elsner and the Henschel Quartet
Henschel Quartet
The Henschel Quartet is a German string quartet comprising the Henschel siblings; Christoph and Markus and Monika and, the cellist, Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj, who joined them in 1994.-Musical Training:...
in 2002, and performed in 2004 by Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
and the Dresdner Streichquartett.
He played the flute in a trio concert at the Gasteig
Gasteig
Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig...
, with Rudi Spring
Rudi Spring
Rudi Spring is a German composer of classical music, pianist and academic. He is known for vocal compositions on texts by poets and his own, and for chamber music such as his three Chamber Symphonies.- Professional career :...
(piano) and Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse is an English composer and a cellist. He is known for chamber music and for unusual scoring, such as Piccolo Quintet, Bright Angel for three bassoons and contrabassoon, Chieftain's Salute for Great Highland Bagpipe and string orchestra, and works for speaking voice and cello,...
(cello), performing Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
's trio and the premiere of the flute version of Gestural Variations
Gestural Variations
Gestural Variations op. 43 is a trio composition of Graham Waterhouse in 1997 originally for oboe, bassoon and piano. Later versions are scored for clarinet, cello and piano and flute, cello and piano .-Movements:...
; every composer contributed a Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
, Josef set Süßer die Glocken nie klingen. In 2010 he was the alto flutist in the premiere there of the song Im Gebirg (The Mountain) by Waterhouse on a poem by Hans Krieger
Hans Krieger
Hans Krieger is a German writer, essayist, journalist of influential weekly papers such as Die Zeit, broadcaster and poet. He lives and works in Munich.-Life:...
, with Martina Koppelstetter (mezzo-soprano), the composer and Christopher White (piano).
Josef's chamber music is recorded on a composer portrait CD Kammermusik, including Fünf Chansons nach Texten von François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
(for soprano, flute, clarinet and percussion), 26.6.1626 (concertante scene no. 2 for baritone, flute, violin, bassoon and piano), Bizarrerien (three songs and two intermezzi for soprano, alto flute and guitar), and the Musik für Flöte(n), Viola und Kontrabass, played by La Picassola.
External links
- Jens Josef Komponist Flötist Website
- Jens Josef on the La Picassola website
- Entries for Jens Josef on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...