Reinhard Febel
Encyclopedia
Reinhard Febel is a German composer, notable for his operas. He is also a music theorist and a university professor at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
and the Mozarteum.
he studied composition from 1979, with Klaus Huber
at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
and at the IRCAM
in Paris where he attended courses in electronic music in 1982. On a commission of the Bayerische Staatsoper he composed the chamber opera Euridice, premiered in 1983. He described his work "The musical world of Euridice is a hybrid of instrumentation, pastiche, collage, composition, sound-noise, and song-language-speech particles." He worked from 1983 to 1988 as a freelance composer in London, in 1984 in Rome on a scholarship of the Villa Massimo
. In 1985 his Symphony, composed for the Youth Orchestra of the European Community, was premiered at the Donaueschinger Musiktage.
In 1989 he took over the Chair of Composition and Music Theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. In 1992 his opera in three acts Sekunden und Jahre des Caspar Hauser (Seconds and years of Caspar Hauser) on a libretto by Lukas Hemleb was premiered at the Opernhaus Dortmund
. In 1996 WERGO
recorded his Variations for Orchestra, Das Unendliche (The Infinite) for mezzo-soprano, baritone and orchestra, and his first string quartet, played by the Arditti Quartet
. Joseph Stevenson described Variations for Orchestra as "a highly individual, strikingly mysterious one-movement orchestral piece in a post-modern style that mixes tonality and atonality in a freely chromatic technique." Das Unendliche on a poem by Giacomo Leopardi
begins with an instrumental reference to the opera Euridice. The string quartet shows elements of American Minimal music and is written in a notation of eight lines, two for each player. In 2003 Wolkenstein, Lieder und Chöre nach Texten und Melodien des Oswald von Wolkenstein (Wolkenstein, songs and choruses after texts and tunes of Oswald von Wolkenstein
) was first performed at the Berliner Philharmonie
. Triptychon is a "Kammermusiktheater für zwei Sänger, zwei Schauspieler und Kammerorchester nach drei Gemälden von Frida Kahlo, Edward Hopper und Diego Velazquez" (chamber music theater for two singers, two actors and chamber orchestra on three paintings by Frida Kahlo
, Edward Hopper
and Diego Velázquez
) on a text by the composer. The three parts are entitled "Frida", "Gespensterhaus" (Ghost house) and "Raum 17" (Room 17). The opera was premiered in 2009 at the Opernhaus Kiel.
Over the years he spent periods of study, teaching and composing abroad, including in South America (Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina), New Zealand, South Africa (University of Natal
) and Cameroon, and in cities such as Skopje
, Edinburgh and Riga
. Since 1997 he has been professor of composition at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg.
Frida, Gespensterhaus and Raum 17 were presented as Triptychon, an operatic triptych based on paintings.
Febel's works have been published by Ricordi
.
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover is an artistic-scientific university in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany. It dates back to 1897. From 1962 until 2010 it was named Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover , short: Musikhochschule Hannover...
and the Mozarteum.
Career
Febel first studied music and piano with Jürgen Uhde at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart. On a recommendation from Helmut LachenmannHelmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann is a German composer associated with musique concrète instrumentale.-Life and works:...
he studied composition from 1979, with Klaus Huber
Klaus Huber
Klaus Huber is a Swiss composer.Huber was born in Bern, Switzerland. One of the leading figures of his generation in Europe, he has written extensively for chamber ensembles, choirs, soloists and the orchestra as well as the theater...
at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
The Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music.-History:The Hochschule was initially founded as a municipal institution in 1946 under the direction of Gustav...
and at the 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 where he attended courses in electronic music in 1982. On a commission of the Bayerische Staatsoper he composed the chamber opera Euridice, premiered in 1983. He described his work "The musical world of Euridice is a hybrid of instrumentation, pastiche, collage, composition, sound-noise, and song-language-speech particles." He worked from 1983 to 1988 as a freelance composer in London, in 1984 in Rome on a scholarship of the Villa Massimo
Villa Massimo
Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo , is a German art institute in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
. In 1985 his Symphony, composed for the Youth Orchestra of the European Community, was premiered at the Donaueschinger Musiktage.
In 1989 he took over the Chair of Composition and Music Theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. In 1992 his opera in three acts Sekunden und Jahre des Caspar Hauser (Seconds and years of Caspar Hauser) on a libretto by Lukas Hemleb was premiered at the Opernhaus Dortmund
Opernhaus Dortmund
Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, opened in 1966 and formally operated by the Theater Dortmund.-Architecture:...
. In 1996 WERGO
WERGO
WERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by the art historian Werner Goldschmidt and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmayer and is currently based in Mainz, Germany....
recorded his Variations for Orchestra, Das Unendliche (The Infinite) for mezzo-soprano, baritone and orchestra, and his first string quartet, played by the Arditti Quartet
Arditti Quartet
The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
. Joseph Stevenson described Variations for Orchestra as "a highly individual, strikingly mysterious one-movement orchestral piece in a post-modern style that mixes tonality and atonality in a freely chromatic technique." Das Unendliche on a poem by Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
begins with an instrumental reference to the opera Euridice. The string quartet shows elements of American Minimal music and is written in a notation of eight lines, two for each player. In 2003 Wolkenstein, Lieder und Chöre nach Texten und Melodien des Oswald von Wolkenstein (Wolkenstein, songs and choruses after texts and tunes of Oswald von Wolkenstein
Oswald von Wolkenstein
Oswald von Wolkenstein was a poet, composer and diplomat. In the latter capacity, he traveled through much of Europe, even as far as Georgia , and was inducted into the Order of the Dragon...
) was first performed at the Berliner Philharmonie
Berliner Philharmonie
The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany. Home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the building is acclaimed for both its acoustics and its architecture....
. Triptychon is a "Kammermusiktheater für zwei Sänger, zwei Schauspieler und Kammerorchester nach drei Gemälden von Frida Kahlo, Edward Hopper und Diego Velazquez" (chamber music theater for two singers, two actors and chamber orchestra on three paintings by Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
, Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
and Diego Velázquez
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
) on a text by the composer. The three parts are entitled "Frida", "Gespensterhaus" (Ghost house) and "Raum 17" (Room 17). The opera was premiered in 2009 at the Opernhaus Kiel.
Over the years he spent periods of study, teaching and composing abroad, including in South America (Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina), New Zealand, South Africa (University of Natal
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...
) and Cameroon, and in cities such as Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Edinburgh and Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. Since 1997 he has been professor of composition at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg.
Stage works
| Premiere | Title | Description | Libretto and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Nov 1983, Munich, Bayerische Staatsoper | Euridice | Chamber opera, 80' | Helmut Danninger, after Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera librettist at the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras... 's libretto for Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri was an Italian composer and singer of the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and is often called the inventor of opera... |
| 15 May 1988, Opernhaus Kiel | Nacht mit Gästen | Music-theatre | the composer after the eponymous play by Peter Weiss Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss was a German writer, painter, and artist of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays Marat/Sade and The Investigation and his novel The Aesthetics of Resistance.... |
| 12 Apr 1992, Opernhaus Dortmund Opernhaus Dortmund Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, opened in 1966 and formally operated by the Theater Dortmund.-Architecture:... |
Sekunden und Jahre des Caspar Hauser | Opera in three acts and nine scenes | Lukas Hemleb |
| 6 Nov 1994, Staatstheater Darmstadt | Morels Erfindung | Opera in one act | Lukas Hemleb, after La invención de Morel The Invention of Morel La invención de Morel — translated as The Invention of Morel or Morel's Invention — is a science fiction novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares. It was Bioy Casares' breakthrough effort, for which he won the 1941 First Municipal Prize for Literature of the City of Buenos Aires... by Adolfo Bioy Casares Adolfo Bioy Casares Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, and translator. He was a friend and collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges, and wrote what many consider one of the best pieces of fantastic fiction, the novella The Invention of Morel.-Biography:Adolfo Bioy... |
| 14 Sep 1996, Theater Hagen Theater Hagen Theater Hagen is a theatre in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.... |
Beauty | Music-theatre | Lukas Hemleb, after a newspaper article |
| 20 Dec 2005, WDR Köln | Desert Inn | Radio play | |
| 10 May 2001, Oper Bonn | Besuchszeit | Music-theatre for three actors and music, 60' | the composer |
| 22 Mar 2003, Philharmonie Berlin | Wolkenstein | Lieder after texts and melodies of Oswald von Wolkenstein Oswald von Wolkenstein Oswald von Wolkenstein was a poet, composer and diplomat. In the latter capacity, he traveled through much of Europe, even as far as Georgia , and was inducted into the Order of the Dragon... |
additional texts by the composer |
| 1 Aug 2005, Toihaus Salzburg / TRT Taschenopern-Festival | Frida | 20'. Ein Traumbild after Unos quantos piquetitos by Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits.... |
the composer |
| 1 Aug 2007, Toihaus Salzburg / TRT Taschenopern-Festival | Gespensterhaus | Kammermusiktheater, 30'. Ein Horrorbild after Haunted House by Edward Hopper Edward Hopper Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching... |
the composer |
| 16 May 2009, Opernhaus Kiel | Raum 17 | Music-theatre after the Rokeby Venus by Diego Velasquez | the composer |
Frida, Gespensterhaus and Raum 17 were presented as Triptychon, an operatic triptych based on paintings.
Febel's works have been published by Ricordi
Casa Ricordi
Casa Ricordi is a classical music publishing company founded in 1808 as G. Ricordi & Co. by violinist Giovanni Ricordi in Milan, Italy...
.
Awards
- 1980 Beethoven Prize of BonnBonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
- 1984 Villa MassimoVilla MassimoVilla Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo , is a German art institute in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
- 1988 Johann-Wenzel-Stamitz-Preis
Publications
- Reinhard Febel: Musik für zwei Klaviere seit 1950 als Spiegel der Kompositionstechnik. Pfau Verlag, Saarbrücken 1998.
- Rainer Nonnemann (ed.) and Reinhard Febel: Alles ständig in Bewegung: Texte zur Musik 1976–2003. Pfau Verlag, Saarbrücken 2004.
Literature
- Günter Katzenberger (editor): Reinhard Febel. Beiträge zu seinem musikalischen Schaffen. Hannoversche Gesellschaft für Neue Musik. Ricordi, Feldkirchen 1994, ISBN 3-9803090-4-5.
External links
- O.Univ.Prof. Reinhard Febel / Univ.Prof. für Komposition / 1. Stellvertreter Neue Musik / Abteilungsleiterstellvertreter Dirigieren/Komposition und Musiktheorie Mozarteum
- Reinhard Febel Deutscher Musikrat
- Reinhard Febel mica
- Febel, Reinhard operas.com
- Reinhard Febel (Composer, Arranger) bach-cantatas.com
- Biografie Reinhard Febel SWRSüdwestrundfunkThe Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
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