Michael Gielen
Michael Gielen | |
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Born | Michael Andreas Gielen 20 July 1927 |
Died | 8 March 2019 Mondsee, Austria | (aged 91)
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Michael Andreas Gielen (20 July 1927 – 8 March 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer known for promoting contemporary music in opera and concert. Principally active in Europe, his performances are characterized by precision and vivacity, aiding his ability to interpret the complex contemporary music he specialized in.
He first worked in Buenos Aires, where he lived with his family between 1938 and 1950. In Europe, he first worked in Vienna and then in Sweden as the Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Royal Swedish Opera. He conducted notable world premieres such as György Ligeti's Requièm, Karlheinz Stockhausen's Carré, and Bernd Alois Zimmermann's opera Die Soldaten and his Requiem für einen jungen Dichter. He directed the Oper Frankfurt from 1977 to 1987, installing more contemporary operas, winning stage directors such as Hans Neuenfels and Ruth Berghaus, and reviving operas such as Schreker's Die Gezeichneten. During his era, the company became one of the leading operas.
Gielen was also principal conductor of the
Early years
Gielen was born in
Career
Gielen began his career as a pianist in Buenos Aires, where he studied with Erwin Leuchter .[1] As a répétiteur at the Teatro Colón at age 20, he played the basso continuo to the recitatives, in the style of the time, in a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler.[5] In 1949, he gave an early performance of Arnold Schoenberg's complete piano works.[1][5] In this period he also shortly studied philosophy.
In 1950, Gielen moved to Vienna where his father had become director of the Burgtheater. Michael Gielen was conductor and répétiteur, who conducted at the
His next operatic appointment, from 1960, was at the
He took to freelance conducting in 1965, including the premiere of
From 1977 to 1987, Gielen was GMD at the Oper Frankfurt, where he worked with the dramaturge Klaus Zehelein towards more contemporary operas.[1][8] In 1979, he revived Franz Schreker's opera Die Gezeichneten there, which had premiered in Frankfurt in 1918.[9] During his time in Frankfurt, later called the Gielen Era,[6] he collaborated with stage directors such as Hans Neuenfels for Verdi's Aida and Ruth Berghaus for Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.[10] The time was described as the Ära Gielen/Zehelein (Gielen/Zehelein era)[1] and made Frankfurt an internationally recognised opera.[5]
Gielen was also principal conductor of the
He demonstrated a mastery of the most complex contemporary scores, and conducted many premieres, including Helmut Lachenmann's Fassade and Klangschatten – mein Saitenspiel, György Ligeti's Requiem, and Karlheinz Stockhausen's Carré. He premiered Zimmermann's Requiem für einen jungen Dichter in Düsseldorf in 1969.[14] In 1973 he recorded Schönberg's opera Moses und Aron, used as a soundtrack for the film Moses und Aron.[6]
In October 2014, Gielen announced his retirement from conducting for health reasons, particularly seriously deteriorated eyesight.[15] He died in Mondsee, Austria, on 8 March 2019 of pneumonia.[8][16][5][17]
Recordings
With the SWR, Gielen recorded various symphonies, including a complete cycle of both
His recordings—and conducting in general—are noted for their relentless precision, exactness and veracity over sentimentality. These characteristics were particularly helpful in performing complex contemporary works.[18][19]
Compositions
Gielen began to compose in 1946, and kept composing throughout his career as a conductor.
His compositions are listed by the Akademie der Künste:[21]
- 1946 Violin Sonata
- 1948 Der Einsame for bass and piano, after Friedrich Nietzsche
- 1949 Variations for string quartet
- 1950 Chorale variations on "Christus der uns selig macht"
- 1954 Musik 1954 for baritone, strings, piano, timpani and trombone
- 1959 Variationen für 40 Instrumente, four poems by Stefan George for choir and orchestra
- 1960–1963 Pentaphonie "Un dia sobresale" – "Ein Tag tritt hervor" after Pablo Neruda
- 1967–1969 die glocken sind auf falscher spur. Melodramen und Zwischenspiele nach Gedichten von Hans Arp
- 1971–1974 Mitbestimmungsmodell for orchestra players and a conductor
- 1976 Einige Schwierigkeiten bei der Überwindung der Angst for orchestra
- 1983 Un vieux souvenir, string quartet
- 1988 Pflicht und Neigung for winds, percussion and keyboard instruments
- 1989 Rückblick for three cellos
- 1991 Sonata for cello solo
- 2001 Klavierstück in sieben Sätzen for piano
Awards
- 1985: Hessian Cultural Prize[22]
- 1986: Theodor W. Adorno Award[1]
- 1999: Frankfurter Musikpreis[22]
- 2006: Duisburger Musikpreis[22]
- 2010: Ernst von Siemens Music Prize[1][9]
- June 2010: Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern)[21]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Maurer Zenck, Claudia (2014). "Michael Gielen". In Maurer Zenck, Claudia; Petersen, Peter; Fetthauer, Sophie (eds.). Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit. Hamburg: Universität Hamburg. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Hutton, Mary Ellyn (23 March 2010). "Michael Gielen in Good Company". musicincincinnati.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Hillebrand, Jörg (15 July 2007). "Michael Gielen – "Ich ziehe mich zurück"" (in German). Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Zmarł wybitny dyrygent. Miał 91 lat Deutsche Welle (Polish program), 9 march 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Brachmann, Jan (9 March 2019). "Zum Tod von Michael Gielen / Der Vision eines Elysiums verweigerte er sich". Faz.net (in German). FAZ. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d Roth, Wilhelm (20 July 2017). "Dirigent, der in Frankfurt einst eine Ära begründete, wird 90 Jahre alt: Unermüdlich trieb Michael Gielen die Moderne voran". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). Retrieved 20 July 2017.[dead link]
- ^ Jacobi, Johannes (25 June 1965). "Ein Traumspiel / Oper (nach Strindberg) von Aribert Reimann Stadttheater in Kiel". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ a b Neuhoff, Bernhard (8 March 2019). "Dirigent und Komponist / Zum Tod von Michael Gielen" (in German). BR. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ a b Peters, Rainer (2010). "The Ernst von Siemens Music Prize-Winner Michael Gielen". Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ Rockwell, John (28 April 1987). "Opera: Wagner's 'Ring des Nibelungen' in Nigeria". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Requiem für einen jungen Dichter" (in German). Schott. 15 December 1969. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ "Michael Gielen beendet Dirigenten-Karriere". WDR (Kulturnachrichten). 30 October 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ Schreiber, Wolfgang (8 March 2019). "Tod von Michael Gielen / Die Wahrheitsliebe der Musik". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- ^ a b c Allen, David (13 March 2019). "Michael Gielen, Uncompromising German Maestro, Is Dead at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ "die glocken sind auf falscher spur". Breitkopf & Härtel. Wiesbaden. 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Akademie der Künste. Berlin. 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ a b c Boisits, Barbara (2019). "Gielen, Michael Andreas". Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon online. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
Sources
- Michael Gielen at AllMusic
- Michael Gielen composers21.com
- Michael Gielen (Conductor) Bach Cantatas Website
Literature
- Michael Gielen: Unbedingt Musik. Erinnerungen. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 2005; ISBN 3-458-17272-6.
- Michael Gielen, Paul Fiebig: Mahler im Gespräch. Die zehn Sinfonien. Metzler, Stuttgart 2002; ISBN 3-476-01933-0.
Further reading
- "A musician in search of a definite performance". Newspapers.com.
- Rhein, John von (13 January 2001). "Taking risks". Newspapers.com.
- Eckle, Georg Albrecht (19 July 2007). "Der Leuchturm". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- Koch, Gerhard R. (July 2007). "Anti-Schamane / Michael Gielen zum achtzigsten Geburtstag". neue musikzeitung (in German). Regensburg. Archived from the originalon 29 September 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- Weber, M. (12 July 2007). "Ein Vermittler, ein Missionar". Die Zeit (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
External links
- Literature by and about Michael Gielen in the German National Library catalogue
- Michael Andreas Gielen, Music Information Center Austria
- "Ehrendirigent des SWR-Sinfonieorchesters legt Taktstock aus gesundheitlichen Gründen nieder", magazin.klassik.com 30 October 2014
- Conductor / Composer Michael Gielen / A Conversation with Bruce Duffie, 22 March 1996