Alfons Karl Zwicker

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Alfons Karl Zwicker (born April 22, 1952 in St. Gallen ) is a Swiss composer , pianist and painter .

Life

Alfons Karl Zwicker started out as a painter and designer. He created several pictures that were exhibited between 1973 and 1980. Zwicker then studied piano with Hadassa Schwimmer at the Winterthur Conservatory from 1976 to 1981 and with Werner Bärtschi in Zurich from 1983 to 1987 . From 1984 to 1988 he studied composition with Rudolf Kelterborn at the Music Academy of the City of Basel .

After that he first appeared as an interpreter of new music and worked as a song accompanist. To promote contemporary music, he founded the IGNM -music podium Contrapunkt in St. Gallen in 1987 . He directed this concert series until 1993.

From 1990 he was active as a composer and in 1993 he attended a master class with the Russian composer Edisson Denisov in Lucerne . He then became a member of the Groupe Lacroix composers group in 2000 . With this he realized a music project for Paul Klee . As part of the Œuvres Suisses project , he composed the work “Unter dem Grabhügel” for saxophone and orchestra for the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra , which was performed with the soloist Vincent Daoud (saxophone) under the direction of Otto Tausk on February 20, 2015 in the Tonhalle St Gallen was premiered.

He completed a postgraduate course in arts management at the University of Basel in 2002 with a Master of Advanced Studies .

Awards

  • 1989: Culture Promotion Prize of the City of St. Gallen (for contribution to the Contrapunkt music platform )
  • 1991: International Bodenseekulturförderungspreis (for compositional work)
  • 1993: Contribution from the Cantonal Office for Cultural Preservation St. Gallen (for the African Notes project )
  • 1994: Contribution to the Pro Helvetia Foundation (for orchestral cycle Vom Klang der Bilder )
  • 1997: Contribution to the Pro Arte Foundation (for the opera Die Höllenmaschine )
  • 2003: Composition contribution to the Pro Helvetia Foundation (for the opera Death and the Maiden )
  • 2004: Grant from the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation (for opera Death and the Maiden )
  • 2007: Contribution to work by the city of St. Gallen (for a secular requiem )
  • 2012: Culture Prize of the City of St. Gallen - endowed with 20,000 francs (for experimental music theater and impressive stage productions)

Works

Stage works

Opera

  • The infernal machine . Opera in 4 acts after Jean Cocteau . Premiere 1998 Theater St. Gallen
  • A dividing line is drawn out further . Opera in one act based on the scenic poetry by Nelly Sachs . Premiere 2001 Theater St. Gallen
  • Death and the Maiden . Opera in 6 scenes. Libretto: Daniel Fuchs based on Ariel Dorfman 's drama of the same name. Premiere December 4th, 2010 Festspielhaus Hellerau

Stage / drama music

  • Night duet (1989–1990). Cycle with poems by Georg Trakl for mezzo-soprano, bass, flute, harpsichord, 4 violins, viola, cello and double bass

Vocal music

  • Frozen Dreams (1990–1992). Cycle based on poems by Josef Kopf for mezzo-soprano and ensemble
  • Pilgrimage to blue ice bricks (1990–1993) for baritone and piano. Text: Josef Kopf
  • Drops on Stone (1995). Cycle based on poems by Elisabeth Heck for baritone, flute, harp, piano, percussion and viola
  • Die Welt roust (1996) for baritone solo based on a letter from August Stramm
  • Konstellation mit Mondtransit (1998–1999) for soprano, violin, trombone, violoncello, clarinet and piano
  • Remembering Nelly Sachs (1999) for 2 flutes, harpsichord and female voice
  • Empathie (2001–2002) for soprano, violoncello and tape. Text: Else Lasker-Schüler
  • Landscape from Screams (2003) for mezzo-soprano and piano. Text: Nelly Sachs
  • Mirlitonnades (2007) for mezzo-soprano and 6 instruments. Text: Samuel Beckett
  • The holiest star above me (2009) for alto and piano

Instrumental music

Orchestral music

  • Encounter with the Ice (1992–1993) for medium orchestra
  • On the sound of images (1987–1996). Cycle for large orchestra and piano solo
  • Sprachklang (2004) for solo string orchestra
  • L'été symmétric (Le jardin sous les eaux, part 2) (2009–2010) for large orchestra

Chamber music

  • Variations for violin solo (1988)
  • Discourse (1988) for piano and 2 drums (1 player)
  • Rituals for Fada (1994) for string quartet
  • Postludien (1995–1997) for violin and piano
  • Kosmogramm I (1998–1999) for piano solo
  • Mourning (2001). Klee sound for oboe, bassoon, viola and guitar
  • Understanding (2002). Memories from the dungeon for ensemble
  • Messages of rain (2003) for violoncello and percussion
  • Monograms (2004-2007). 8 piano pieces
  • Secretum (2006-2007). 8 pieces based on the original signs of the I Ching for violoncello and double bass
  • Monstrosität (2009-2010) for piano 4 hands
  • From the sound of radical architecture (2010). Cycle for piano four hands
  • Hommage à Jean Baudrillard (2010) for ensemble

Discography

  • On the sound of images (Musiques Suisses, 1998). Peter Waters (piano), Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, Monica Buckland Hofstetter (conductor)
  • Frozen Dreams (ASM, 1999). Eleanor James, Marc Fournel, Charly Baur, Priska Zaug, Ursula Oelke, Manuel Bärtsch, Juhani Palola, Beatrix Sieber, Leo Gschwend, Jean-Marc Chappuis, Raffael Bietenhader, Jürg Wyttenbach (lead)
  • Rituals for Fada (Classic 2000). Arioso Quartet St. Gallen
  • Groupe Lacroix : 8 Pieces on Paul Klee ( Creative Works Records , 2003). Ensemble Sortisatio
  • Monograms (Creative Works Records, 2008). Peter Waters (piano)
  • Death and the Maiden (MGB, 2011). Frances Pappas (mezzo-soprano), Andreas Scheibner (baritone), Hans-Jürgen Schöpflin (tenor), St. Gallen Choir and Symphony Orchestra , Jonathan Stockhammer (conductor)

literature

  • Adrian Riklin: The birth of music from everyday drama . In: Saiten 44 (1997).
  • Roland Schönenberg: Journey across Africa into the Northern Lights. St. Gallen: Composer Portrait Alfons Karl Zwicker . In: Dissonanz 55 (1998), pp. 33-34.
  • Zwicker, Alfons Karl. In: Axel Schniederjürgen (Ed.): Kürschner's Musicians Handbook. 5th edition, Saur Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-598-24212-3 , p. 537.
  • Zwicker, Alfons Karl . In: Wilhelm Kosch , Ingrid Bigler-Marschall (Hrsg.): Deutsches Theater-Lexikon. Biographical and bibliographical manual . Volume 7: Wolbring – Zysset , De Gruyter, Berlin [u. a.] 2011, ISBN 978-3-11-026918-5 , pp. 3926-3927.
  • Lisa D. Nolte: Blood-red consternation. Alfons Karl Zwicker's opera “Death and the Maiden” at the St. Gallen Theater (September to November 2011) . In: Dissonanz 117 (2012), pp. 59–60.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Deutsches Theaterlexikon, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c d Kürschner's Musicians Handbook, 2006.
  3. ^ Groupe Lacroix in the Music Information Center Austria
  4. ↑ Jörg Jewanski, Hajo Düchting: music and visual arts in the 20th century. Encounters - touches - influences . Kassel University Press, Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-89958-442-4 , p. 144.
  5. ^ Work grants for artists from St.Gallen ( Memento from December 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). Website of the city of St. Gallen. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  6. ↑ News St. Gallen Culture Prize. Michael Steiner and Alfons Karl Zwicker are honored . In: Tages-Anzeiger , October 5, 2012, p. 29.
personal data
SURNAME Zwicker, Alfons Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zwicker, Karl Alfons
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss composer, pianist and painter
DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Gallen