Christian Mühlbacher

Christian Mühlbacher at a concert with Nouvelle Cuisine, 2009

Christian Mühlbacher (born February 1, 1960 in Vienna ) is an Austrian composer and drummer.

Live and act

Mühlbacher studied drums and composition at the Vienna University of Music . He then worked as a percussionist in various ensembles for new music . He also founded the big band “Nouvelle Cuisine” (together with Christoph Cech ), for which he also composes. He was also a co-founder and member of the ensembles “Go 4 it”, “5.4.xx” and “Diphtongs” and also writes pieces for the wind ensemble “ Pro Brass ”, of which he is also a musician and artistic director. He can still be heard on records with Sigi Maron , Ronnie Urini , Max Nagl and Chet Baker and has also appeared with Django Bates , Elliott Sharp , Gerald Preinfalk and Werner Dafeldecker .

He wrote other compositions for various ensembles ( e.g. for the Klangforum Wien , Ensemble die reihe Wien, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg , the Vienna Trombone Quartet, the “Bösze Salonorchester” or the “Janus Ensemble”). He also wrote various film and theater music. In his compositional activity he crosses the boundaries between jazz, rock and European art music .

Since 1998 he has been teaching jazz theory and arrangement at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna , also at the Gustav Mahler Conservatory there and at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz .

Prizes and awards

• 1984 Austro Mechana Art Orchestra Prize .
• 1994 Big Band Composition Competition Leibnitz '94 : 4th place.
• 1995 Gustav Mahler Composition Prize of the City of Klagenfurt : 2nd place
• 1998 State grant for composition from the Republic of Austria
• 1998 Erste Bank Prize .

Discographic notes

• Chamber Jungle (DVD + CD)
• Nouvelle Cuisine: Mozart Revisited
• Nouvelle Cuisine: gDoon
• Mühlbacher's USW, ...: 5.4.97-2006 (CDs & DVDs)

Web links

• Web presence
• Catalog raisonné
• Jazz thetics over nouvelle cuisine ( Memento from August 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive )