Michael von Biel
Encyclopedia
Michael von Biel is a German
composer
, cellist, and graphic artist
.
Von Biel studied piano, theory, and composition in Toronto
(1956–57), Vienna
(1958–60), New York
(1960, with Morton Feldman
, amongst others), London
(1960, with Cornelius Cardew
), and Cologne
(with Karlheinz Stockhausen
). From 1961 to 1963 he attended the Darmstadt
International Vacation/Holiday Courses for New Music. In 1964 he received a commission from the WDR
for the electronic piece Fassung. From 1965–66 he was Composer in Residence at the State University of New York
in Buffalo
. Since 1966 Michael von Biel has lived in Cologne, where he came into contact with artists of the Fluxus
movement. From 1968–69 he studied with Joseph Beuys
at the Düsseldorf
Kunstakademie. In the following years he created works in the visual realm especially. His Jagdstück (1966) for brass, contrabass, tape, and amplified barbecues was probably partly inspired by his contact to artists from the Fluxus
movement.
Translated from the German Wikipedia
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...
, cellist, and graphic artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Von Biel studied piano, theory, and composition in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(1956–57), Vienna
Vienna
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...
(1958–60), New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1960, with Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
, amongst others), London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(1960, with Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew was an English experimental music composer, and founder of the Scratch Orchestra, an experimental performing ensemble. He later rejected the avant-garde in favour of a politically motivated "people's liberation music".-Biography:Cardew was born in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire...
), and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
(with Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
). From 1961 to 1963 he attended the 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...
International Vacation/Holiday Courses for New Music. In 1964 he received a commission from the WDR
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
for the electronic piece Fassung. From 1965–66 he was Composer in Residence at the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Since 1966 Michael von Biel has lived in Cologne, where he came into contact with artists of the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
movement. From 1968–69 he studied with Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
at the Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
Kunstakademie. In the following years he created works in the visual realm especially. His Jagdstück (1966) for brass, contrabass, tape, and amplified barbecues was probably partly inspired by his contact to artists from the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
movement.
Translated from the German Wikipedia
Compositions (selective list)
- Für Klavier no.1–3 (three piano pieces for Morton Feldman), for piano four-hands (1960–61)
- Book for Three, for violin and two pianos, or three pianos (1961–62)
- Doubles, 29 pieces for violin and piano (1961)
- String Quartet No. 1 (1962)
- String Quartet No. 2 (1963)
- Fassung, electronic music for four loudspeaker groups(1963–64)
- Quartett mit Begleitung, for string quartet and cello (1965)
- Deklination, for alto voice, piano, 3 percussionists, harp, cello, contrabass, and electronics (1965)
- Welt I and II, action scores (1965–66)
- The Plain of S'cairn, for five or more winds and five or more strings (1966)
- Jagdstück for brass, contrabass, tape, and amplified barbecues (1966)
- Composition for orchestra (1968)
- Deutsche Landschaften, for solo cello (1970)
- Cello Concerto (1971)
- Übungsstück, for solo cello with filtered feedback (1971)
- Preludes, for cello (1972)
- 13 traditionelle Stücke, for 2 guitars (1974–77)
- Pieces for two guitars (1976)
- Fragment, for two electric guitars (1981)
- Nineteen Pieces for piano, synthesizer, glockenspiel, percussion, and electric guitar (1985)
- Twenty-eight Pieces for Piano (1987–89)
- Acht Projekt (Aufsatzstück), for piano (1992)
- Pieces for piano (1992)
Sources
- Henck, Herbert. 1983. "Zur Arbeit von Michael von Biel. Eine Literatur- und Werkübersicht." Neuland Jahrbuch 3:100–103.
- Wagner, Hans-Joachim. 2001. "Biel, Michael von". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.