Armin Thalheim

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Armin Thalheim

Armin Thalheim (* 1944 in Kamenz ) is a German harpsichordist , organist , pianist and improviser .

biography

Armin Thalheim studied church music and improvisation with Karl Frotscher, Robert Köbler and Johannes-Ernst Köhler at the Evangelical University for Church Music Dresden and at the University of Music and Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig . In 1972 he received the 2nd prize in the Leipzig Bach Competition in the field of harpsichord. From 1969 to 1975 he was Roland Münch's cantor at the Zionskirche (Berlin) . Thalheim coached from 1969 to 1974 at the State Ballet School in Berlin and from 1996 to 2000 at the Palucca School in Dresden . Since 1972 he has toured almost all European countries as well as Japan, Mexico, Cuba and Paraguay as a soloist. As a duo partner he played with Eckart Haupt and Ludwig Güttler , as a continuo player and organist with the Thomaner and Kreuzchor as well as with many orchestras and chamber music groups. From 1974 to 2009 he taught early music, song accompaniment and improvisation at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin and improvisation from 1996 to 2008 at the Leipzig University of Music.

Thalheim attended early music courses with Keneth Gilbert , Huguette Dreyfus and Gustav Leonhardt . His CD recordings show him as a soloist with works by the Bach family and as an accompanist to flute and recorder soloists such as Adelheid Krause-Pichler and Susanne Ehrhardt, mainly on the harpsichord. He wrote essays on performance practice, reviews and his own compositions, such as the CD The 10 Commandments , which he produced in 2001 together with the rock musician Lexa Thomas. Together with the instrument maker Martin-Christian Schmidt, Thalheim was the source of ideas and co-founder of the Academy for Early Music . In 1981 he toured with the drummer, timpanist and composer Andreas Aigmüller and played his jazz-related music. Thalheim improvises on piano and organ in many musical styles, also with minimalist or jazzy echoes. He has lived in Berlin since 1969.

Works

CD recordings

From 1974 onwards, Thalheim was mainly involved in music recordings as a continuo player in symphony orchestras , chamber orchestras , in smaller ensembles , as well as duo and solo recordings.

Essays

  • How should music of the 17th and 18th centuries be interpreted? In: Musik und Gesellschaft , June 1981, pp. 334–336.
  • Thoughts on some compositional principles of the 18th century. In: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Concepts 2 , pp. 72–80 (Colloquium on the occasion of the 270th birthday, March 1984, Frankfurt / Oder).
  • Recognize the need for stylistic training. In: Musik und Gesellschaft , March 1985, pp. 139–141.
  • Play by learning and learn by playing. In: Musik Forum , January 1986, pp. 10-14.
  • On the ornamentation practice in Bach's piano work. In: Musik und Gesellschaft , May 1986, pp. 242–245.
  • The decorations at Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach using the example of the 18 test pieces. In: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Concepts 4 , pp. 63–69, (symposium on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the death on December 12, 1988).
  • Paths to harmony, basics of improvisation in the field of early music. Music School Congress of the VdM, Hamburg from 12. – 14. May 1995, paper pp. 119–125, AG 8/17.
  • Models of improvisation and the old piano music. In: Musikakademie Rheinsberg (ed.): Everyone according to his style. Pfau-Verlag, Saarbrücken 1997. (Presentation, reprint after shorthand recording), pp. 148–158.
  • Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 6 and the arrangement by Friedrich Mockwitz for piano four hands. In: Article , October 2007, pp. 1–7.
  • Robert Schumann and the organ. The Bach Fugues, Op. 60, No. 1 and 4 (1845/1846). In: Forum Kirchenmusik , 5/2010, pp. 11–16.

"The 10 Commandments"

For about a year Armin Thalheim worked with Lexa Thomas on the implementation of the musical ideas. The two musicians played composed music, improvised and mixed live choirs, soloist ensembles and speakers (around 40 participants in total) between the music. Armin Thalheim wrote the lyrics, played everything for keyboard instruments and created harmonic and rhythmic structures. Lexa Thomas provided the entire sound, played the bass guitar , mixed in background sounds and noises, leveled everything and recorded it. Both spoke texts and sang as soloists or in an ensemble .

Composition and improvisation style

Armin Thalheim learned to play the piano at the age of nine (1953). He improvised and composed without any noteworthy external stimulus. But it was not until the end of his studies in Dresden (1963) that his small works got a profile. From the beginning, changing rhythms, minimalist, jazzy to rock elements determine his compositions. One encounters the styles of Bartók, Martinů, Reich, Glass and perhaps Corea in his works. The list indicates that Thalheim's music is situated between so-called serious and popular music and between impressionism and expressionism. Despite occasional clustering, his style of music mostly strives for harmony. Thalheim combines Southeast European rhythms with the harmony of jazz.

His approximately 60 individual compositions are summarized in 14 opus numbers. Most of the works have premiered (e.g. Konzerthaus, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Asuncion Paraguay), but have not been printed or published. The autographs are with the composer and are being prepared for publication.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Production / CD mastering: Studio >> lexa thomas music <<, 01407 Berlin
    Production: Marus records, Michael Marszalek, 10711 Berlin
  2. ↑ See catalog raisonné on Thalheim's homepage.
personal data
SURNAME Thalheim, Armin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German harpsichordist, organist, pianist and improviser
DATE OF BIRTH 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Kamenz