Karlheinz Essl
Encyclopedia
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n 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...
, performer, sound artist, improviser
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
and composition teacher.
Biography
Essl was born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. His studies at the University of Music in Vienna included: composition (under Friedrich Cerha
Friedrich Cerha
Friedrich Cerha is an Austrian composer and conductor.-Biography:Cerha was born in Vienna.He received his education at the Viennese Music Academy and at the University of Vienna...
), electro-acoustic music (under Dieter Kaufmann
Dieter Kaufmann
Dieter Kaufmann is an Austrian composer.-Biography:Kaufmann was born in Vienna and grew up in Carinthia.He studied music, German philology, art history, violoncello, composition and electro-acoustic music Dieter Kaufmann (born April 22, 1941) is an Austrian composer.-Biography:Kaufmann was born...
) and double bass. At the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
he studied musicology (1989 doctoral thesis on Das Synthese-Denken bei Anton Webern
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
). In 1990-94 he was "composer in residence" at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, while in 1992-93 he worked on a commission at IRCAM
IRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
in Paris. Since 1994 he was music curator of the Essl Collection http://www.essl.at/bibliogr/felber-musikkurator_e.html in Klosterneuburg/Vienna. Between 1995–2006 he taught Algorithmic composition
Algorithmic composition
Algorithmic composition is the technique of using algorithms to create music.Algorithms have been used to compose music for centuries; the procedures used to plot voice-leading in Western counterpoint, for example, can often be reduced to algorithmic determinacy...
at the Studio for Advanced Music & Media Technology at the Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance
Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance
Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance is one of four universities in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It has ca...
in Linz, Austria. As of 2007, Essl is professor of composition for electro-acoustic and experimental music at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Characterisation
Karlheinz Essl's work with computers (with emphasis on algorithmic compositionAlgorithmic composition
Algorithmic composition is the technique of using algorithms to create music.Algorithms have been used to compose music for centuries; the procedures used to plot voice-leading in Western counterpoint, for example, can often be reduced to algorithmic determinacy...
and generative music
Generative music
Generative music is a term popularized by Brian Eno to describe music that is ever-different and changing, and that is created by a system.- Theory :There are four primary perspectives on "Generative Music" Generative music is a term popularized by Brian Eno to describe music that is ever-different...
) and a prolonged occupation with the poetics of serial music have been a formative influence on his compositional thinking. Besides writing instrumental music, Karlheinz Essl also works in the field of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, interactive realtime compositions and sound installations. Since the early 1990s he has developed various software environments for realtime composition which he uses himself for his own live performances and also in collaboration with artists from other fields (choreographers, dancers, visual artists and poets).
In 1998, Essl started to develop a computer-based electronic instrument called m@ze°2 which he uses as an improviser in live performances. Since 2008 he his working on a series of compositions for various solo instruments and live-electronics named Sequitur. Recently he has written several solo and ensemble pieces for electric guitar.
Projects
Since the 1990s, Karlheinz Essl carried out a number of projects for the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and became increasingly involved with improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
. In 1997, Karlheinz Essl was featured at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
with portrait concerts and sound installations. In 2003, he was artist-in-residence of the festival musik aktuell, and in 2004 he was presented with a series of portrait concerts at the Brucknerhaus Linz. 2008–2009 he is composer-in-residence of the Belgium ensemble Champ d'Action.
Selected works
- Helix 1.0 for string quartet (1986)
- met him pike trousers for large orchestra (1987)
- Rudiments for 4 snare drums (1989)
- Close the Gap for 3 tenor saxophones (1989)
- ...et consumimur igni for 3 ensemble groups (1990)
- In's Offene! flute, bass clarinet, violin and cello (1991)
- Entsagung for ensemble and electronics (1993)
- Lexikon-Sonate infinite realtime composition for computer-controlled piano (1992–2007)
- Déviation for ensemble (1993)
- absence for violin solo (1996)
- à trois/seul for string trio (1998)
- mise en scène for 10 instruments (1998)
- more or less realtime composition for soloists and electronics (1999–2002)
- upward, behind the onstreaming it mooned for string quartet (2001)
- blur for flute, cello and vibraphone (2003)
- Faites vos jeux! a musical card game for cellos and/or trombones (2004)
- Kalimba for toy piano and CD (2005)
- colorado for saxophone quartet and live-electronics (2005–2008)
- Von Hirschen und Röhren sound installation for Beat Zoderer (2006–2007)
- 7x7 for 4 clarinets, 4 saxophones, 4 trombones or 4 electric guitars (2006–2009)
- AIRBORNE open-air sound environment (2006)
- Cinq for woodwind quintet (2007)
- FRÄULEIN ATLANTIS generative sound and video environment for Jonathan Meese (2007)
- Sequitur cycle for various solo instruments and live-electronics (2008/2009)
- while my guitars gently whip for 4 electric guitars (2008/2009)
- Detune for oboe and large orchestra (2009)
- Chemi(s)e for electric guitar and 2 ensemble groups (2009)
Music Software
- Amazing Maze: interactive realtime composition for sampled sound particles
- Lexikon-Sonate: algorithmic music generator
- fLOW: ambient soundscape generator
- REplay PLAYer: generative sound file shredder
- SEELEWASCHEN: ambient sound environment based on the sound of a bell
- FontanaMixer: generative sound environment based on John Cage's Fontana Mix
- WebernUhrWerk: generative music generator in memory of Anton Webern
Records
- Gold.Berg.Werk: interpretation of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations for string trio and electronics (Preiser Records 2008)
- SNDTX: electronic music #3 (tlhotra #23 2008) - free download from archive.org
- ©RUDE: electronic music #2 (Lotus Records 2001)
- m@ze°2: electronic music #1 (KHE 1999) - free download as mp3 from last.fm
- Rudiments: instrumental compositions 1986–1993 (TONOS 1995)
External links
- www.essl.at: official website
- myspace.com/karlheinzessl: presentation at MySpace
- Karlheinz Essl interviewed by Julieanne Klein (2010)
- Karlheinz Essl interviewed by Bruce Duffie (1997)