Johannes Paul Thilman was a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 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...

.

Life

Thilman, who actually wanted to become a teacher, encountered music at the age of 18 and taught himself initially. After a private lesson with Paul Hindemith

Paul Hindemith

Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...

 and Hermann Scherchen

Hermann Scherchen

Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens...

, he attended the Leipzig Conservatory in 1929 and studied Composition with Hermann Grabner

Hermann Grabner

Hermann Grabner was an Austrian composer and music teacher.Grabner was born in Graz in 1886. He studied law at the University of Graz graduating in 1909. In parallel he studied music with Leopold Suchsland until 1910. He also played temporarily the viola for the Grazer Theatherorchester...

. The first performances of his works took place after he finished his studies in 1931. They were performed in Donaueschingen

Donaueschingen

Donaueschingen is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar Kreis. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Danube ....

 by his teacher, Hindemith. In the year 1940, he became the instructor of composition

Musical composition

Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...

 at the "Carl Maria von Weber" School of Music

Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber"

The "Carl Maria von Weber" College of Music is a college of music in Dresden, Germany.- History :...

 in his hometown, Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

. He was a professor there from the year 1956 until he became an Emeritus

Emeritus

Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...

 professor in 1968. Among his students were 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...

s Friedrich Goldmann

Friedrich Goldmann

Friedrich Goldmann was a German composer and conductor.-Life:Born on 27 April 1941, in Siegmar-Schönau, Chemnitz, Goldmann’s music education began in 1951 when he joined the Dresdner Kreuzchor...

 and Udo Zimmermann

Udo Zimmermann

Udo Zimmermann was born in Dresden on October 6, 1943. He is a German composer, music director, and conductor.- Biography :Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962. He then continued his music education at the Dresden Music School. He studied composition with Johannes...

. Besides his academic activities, he was also involved in the music life of Dresden. In 1960, Thilman coveted the National Prize of East Germany

National Prize of East Germany

The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic was an award of the German Democratic Republic given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, and other meritorious achievement...

.

Style

Thilman was a conservative 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...

. His music is tonal

Tonality

Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...

 and refers to the form and harmony

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

 of Romantic music

Romantic music

Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....

. His melody is always catchy and uncomplicated. Thilman was particularly inspired by folk music. This influence can be heard clearly in many of his works. Most of his works are kept short. Generally, his tone is fresh and uncomplicated rather than dramatic. Undoubtedly, Thilman oriented his works towards the aesthetics of the Socialist realism

Socialist realism

Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...

. In his later works, he often chose unusual settings and freer forms for his works. Thilman was very respected in East Germany. His Symphony no. 4 was particularly popular. Today, however, he is mostly forgotten.

Selected works

Stage

• Peter Schlemihl, Ballet (1965)

Orchestral

• Kleine Sinfonie Nr.1 (Little Symphony No.1) in G major, Op.56 no.2 (1951)
• Kleine Sinfonie Nr.2 (Little Symphony No.2) in F major, op.60 or 61 (1952)
• Kleine Sinfonie Nr.3 (Little Symphony No.3) in D major, op.63 (1953)
• Symphony No.4 in D minor, op.64 (1954)
• Symphony No.5 "Sinfonie in einem Satz" (Symphony in One Movement), op.79 (1956)
• Symphony No.6 in E major op.92 (1959)
• Symphony No.7 in A major op.101 (1962)
• Partita piccola for chamber orchestra, op.43 (1948)
• Sinfonische Inventionen (Symphonic Inventions), op.77 (1955)
• Sinfonische Prolog (Symphonic Prologue), op.94 (1960)
• Music for Strings (1960)
• Sinfonisches Vorspiel (Symphonic Prelude), op.100 (1961)
• Episoden (Episodes) (1967)
• Ode (1966–1968)
• Impulse (1971)

Concertante

• Concerto for piano and chamber orchestra (1928)
• Concertino giocoso for trombone and orchestra, op.47 (1949)
• Concerto for violin and orchestra, op.59 (1952)
• Concertino for piano (left hand) and orchestra, op.65 (1954)
• Concertino for trumpet and chamber orchestra, op.66 (1954)
• Lichtenberger Konzert for violin and string orchestra (1958)
• Concerto piccolo for harpsichord and small orchestra (or piano and chamber orchestra) (1968)
• Double Concerto for bass clarinet and piano with string orchestra and percussion (1968)
• Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra (1968)
• Orpheus, Concerto for English horn and small orchestra (1969)
• Concerto for violin and chamber orchestra (1972)

Chamber

• Das kleine Requiem for English horn, alto saxophone, viola and piano, op.27
• Sonata in C minor for viola and piano (1935)
• Kleine Sonate (Little Sonata) for English horn and piano, op.34 (1946)
• Sonatine for string quartet, op.49
• Sonata No.1 for violin and piano, op.50
• String Quartet No.1
• String Quartet No.2, op.62 (1954)
• Piano Quartet No.2, op.70
• Quintet for clarinet and strings, op.73 (1955)
• Sextet for woodwinds and strings, op.74 (1955)
• Piano Quintet (1955)
• Sonata No.2 for violin and piano, op.80
• String Quartet No.3 in D major, op.81
• String Quartet No.4 "in einem Satz" (in One Movement), op.84 (1958)
• Trio Piccolo for alto flute, bass clarinet and viola, op.90
• Kleine Sonate (Little Sonata) for cello and piano, op.96 (1960)
• Piano Trio (1963)
• 4 Gespräche for flute, bass clarinet and piano (1965)
• Concerti espressivi for trombone, timpani and piano (1965)
• Dramatische Szenen for string quartet (1969)
• Kammerspiel for string quartet (1970)
• String Quartet No.5 (1970)
• Concertino for string quartet (1971)
• Aspekte for flute, viola and harp
• 6 Duets for violin and viola (pub Litolff 1964)

Piano

• 2 Sonatas (d minor, f minor), op.30 (1946)
• Sonatina patetica, op.39 (1947)
• Händel-Variations, op.1 (1934)
• 10 Neue Inventionen (10 New Inventions), op.86 (1958)
• Sommerabend am Schwarzen Meer (1970)
• 5 Inventions for four hands piano (1949)

Vocal

• Das deutsche Tagewerk, Cantata
• Dresdner Kantate
• Unsterbliche Opfer for bass and orchestra (1960)