Christoph Ehrenfellner

Christoph Ehrenfellner (born November 25, 1975 in Salzburg ) is an Austrian conductor and composer .

Christoph Ehrenfellner, conductor and composer

Life

Born in Salzburg, the second of five sons of an art historian and a music teacher, Ehrenfellner began taking violin lessons with Oskar Hagen (father and teacher of the Hagen Quartet ) at the age of five , before joining the Vienna Boys' Choir in Vienna at the age of nine pulled. At 16 he studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum with Helmut Zehetmayr (violin) and Andreas Lebeda (singing). After graduating from the private high school of the Sacred Heart Missionaries in Salzburg-Liefering in 1994, he switched to the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna , studied with Gerhard Schulz - Alban Berg Quartet (violin) and Leopold Spitzer (voice) and graduated in 2003 Violin with unanimous distinction. Ehrenfellner was a guest at the IMS (International Musicians Seminar) in Prussia Cove for over 10 years , where he received significant influences from musicians such as György Kurtág , György Sebök , Ferenc Rados , Lorand Fenyves , Gabor Takacs and Andras Keller . During these years he also attended numerous master classes with artists such as Shmuel Ashkenasi , Helena Łazarska , Otto Edelmann, John Buttrick, the Amadeus Quartet , Borodin Quartet and with Erich Höbarth ( Viennese string sextet ). In 2006 he completed his studies in chamber music with the Altenberg Trio at the Vienna Conservatory , followed by a bachelor's degree in conducting (with Georg Mark ) in 2009 and composition (with Christian Minkowitsch ) in 2010 - all with distinction.

During these years Ehrenfellner worked as a guest section leader with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Abbado, Harding, Schiff, as a guest concertmaster at the OENM Salzburg under Kalitzke, substituted for the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra , the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Tonkünstler Orchestra Lower Austria . As violinist of the Vienna Philharmonic String Trio, Ehrenfellner was made an honorary member of the Japan-Austrian Cultural Association in 2006. He was the founder and director of the Zuckmayer Ensemble Vienna-Berlin and has performed as a chamber musician at numerous festivals, such as the Salzburg Festival , the Wiener Festwochen, Festival Allegro Vivo, Mahler Festwochen Toblach, Bartok Festival Szombately, or the Semanas Musicales in Frutillar / Chile .

He also worked as a chamber music teacher and lecturer in youth orchestras during these years, for example with the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra, the Upper Austrian State Youth Orchestra, the Orquesta Juvenil de Caracas , the Showa University in Tokyo , the conservatories in Vienna and Mulhouse, and also as director of the children's and youth orchestra as part of the Allegro Vivo Festival. He has been a juror and workshop leader at the SCL International Youth Music Festival Vienna since 2010.

Christoph Ehrenfellner is married, has a daughter and two sons and lives in Klosterneuburg near Vienna, where he has been running the Wasserzeile culture salon since 2011 and introducing his guests to the world of music once a month.

Activity as a conductor

Ehrenfellner received his first position as a conductor as a director of studies at the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy from 2010-2013, his first position as chief conductor of the Beethoven Philharmonie Baden until 2016 followed. Since then he has conducted orchestras around the world such as the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Loh Orchestra Sondershausen, OSN St.Domingo, OSN Nancy, Wiener Jeunesse Orchester, Thames Chamber Orchestra London, Krasnojarsk Chamber Orchestra, Bratislava Symphony Orchestra , to the Teatro Teresa Carrena in Caracas , to the State Opera Ruse / Bulgaria and much more. Ehrenfellner founded the Wallersee Philharmonic in 2009 , with which he performed in the Flachgau region near Salzburg until 2018 . Ehrenfellner has v. a. Made a name in the symphonic field as a well-founded and passionate interpreter of Viennese Classical, Viennese Romantic and Viennese Modernism.

Activity as a composer

Inspired by his long-time teacher György Kurtág , Ehrenfellner has been composing since 2005. With the sensational premiere of his first opera Mae Mona op.7 at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna, Ehrenfellner achieved his international breakthrough as a composer in 2009. Numerous invitations as composer in residence followed, including a. at the Orchester Symphonique Mulhouse , Seiji Ozawa Academy Geneva, Festival Loisiarte, Festival Retz, Festival St.Gallen and especially extensively at the Theater Nordhausen, where he worked continuously and in all formats from 2017-2021. At the Nordhausen Theater and the Loh Orchestra Sondershausen, a.o. a. Ehrenfellner's choral symphony Luther , his ballet Cranes of Ibykus, his opera Cain and Abel and his piano concerto The Wanderer . His violin solo work Suite des Alpes also attracted special international attention , for which violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian received the coveted Opus Klassik Prize 2018 for Sony Classics. In 2017 Ehrenfellner's church opera Judas had a particular success at the Retz Festival, the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg will be releasing its 4th and latest opera Karl and Anna based on a libretto by Roland Schimmelpfennig in 2021 . Ehrenfellner made his composer debut in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein in 2012 with his Stravinsky homage Danse des Corbeaux , which will be released on CD in the ORF Edition in 2020, recorded by the Wiener Jeunesse Orchestra under J. Wildner. Performers of Ehrenfellner's music include a. Gidon Kremer, Leif Segerstam, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Erwin Ortner, Christian Altenburger, Alexandra Soumm, Christoph Sietzen, Michael Helmrath, Daniel Klajner, Enrico Pace and Sergey Malov. Partners for his premieres include a. the Grafenegg, Styriarte, Carinthischer Sommer, Dialoge Salzburg, Allegro Vivo, Loisiarte, Festival Retz and St.Gallen festivals, as well as the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, Theater Nordhausen, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Lower Austria Tonkünstler Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Mexico City Phil. , Philharmonie Prague and Wiener Jeunesse Orchester.

Special (world premiere) performances of his works are (selection):

• The Cranes of Ibykus - Ballet op.37 (Theater Nordhausen 2018)
• Cain and Abel - Opera op.49 (Theater Nordhausen 2021)
• Symphony No.1 Luther op.34 (Loh-Orchester Sondershausen - Daniel Klajner, 2017)
• Judas - Church Opera op.31 (Festival Retz 2017)
• Danse des Corbeaux - Suite de Ballet op.19, homage to Igor Stravinsky's “Firebird” (Wiener Jeunesse Orchester - Johannes Wildner 2012).
• Fantaisie Pathetique - Hommage à Tchaikovsky op.17 (OS Mulhouse 2012 - Daniel Klajner, Turku Phil. 2012 - Leif Segerstam)
• Entr'Acte - Orchesterfantasie op.15 under the film of the same name by René Clair from 1923, (La Filature Mulhouse 2011).
• Suite des Alpes op.36 - violin solo for the rising star tour of Emmanuel Tjeknavorian 2017/2018 across Europe.
• The Wanderer - piano concert piece op.40 (Liszt Biennale Sondershausen 2019)
• Quasi una Fantasia - Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Strings op.43 (Academia Allegro Vivo - V.Khadem-Missagh 2019)
• Kafka - Metamorphosis - Chamber Music Theater on Kafka op.32 (Theater Nordhausen 2017) and as a trio suite op.32b (Tokyo 2019, C.Ehrenfellner, Y.Fujii and M.Honda).
• The Devil's Three Golden Hair - Children's Opera Op.11 ( Carinthian Summer 2010).
• Hommage à St. Petersburg - Concert op.10 for violin / viola (Viola Space Festival Nobuko Imai in Tokyo 2010 and Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg 2011).
• La Ballade - String Quartet No. 2 op.24 (Seiji Ozawa Academy 2013 Victoria Hall , Geneva)
• Mae Mona - Chamber Opera op.7 (2009) at the Max Reinhardt Seminar Vienna (Music Workshop Vienna and University of Vienna ).
• Variations on Impossibility op. 22, string trio (Mainfranken Theater Würzburg 2013).

Discography (selection)

• Suite des Alpes op.36 for violin solo on Sony Classic (Emmanuel Tjeknavorian's debut album 'Solo')
• Quasi una Fantasia op.43 - double concerto for violin, cello and strings (Academia Allegro Vivo, Vahid Khadem-Missagh, ORF)
• Thank you des Corbeaux op.19 - Suite de Ballet. Wiener Jeunesse Orchestra, Johannes Wildner 2012 (ORF 2020)
• Lv Beethoven - Complete Violin Sonatas. Christoph Ehrenfellner and Masako Honda (ArtUnion Tokyo 2017–2019).
• Hans Koessler : Trio-Suite for Violin, Viola & Piano; Quintet in F major for 2 violins, viola, cello & piano; Emánuel Moór : Sonata No. 2 for Cello & Piano Op. 55 - David Frühwirth, violin; Christoph Ehrenfellner, violin; Geneviève Strosser, viola; Péter Szabó, cello; Zsuzsa Kollár, Piano - Hungaroton Classic HCD 32331 (2005)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Johannes Brahms : Clarinet Quintets KV 581, op. 115 - Yoko Fuji, clarinet; Christoph Ehrenfellner, violin; Herbert Müller, viola; Adalbert Skocic, violoncello a. a. - Art Union Japan (2008)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven : String Trios KV 563, op. 8 - Christoph Ehrenfellner, violin; Herbert Müller, viola; Adalbert Skocic, violoncello - Preiser Records PR 91773 (2011)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento KV 563 - Christoph Ehrenfellner, violin; Firmian Kermer, viola; Martin Rummel, violoncello - paladino music pmr 0013 (2011)
• Franz Schubert , Robert Schumann : Piano Quintets Op. 114 “Trout”, Op. 44 - Katsura Takinawa, piano; Christoph Ehrenfellner, violin; Johannes Dickbauer, 2nd violin - ArtUnion Japan ART 3134 (2011)
• Christoph Ehrenfellner: Piano Trio op. 12 - Sergey Malov, violin; Thomas Kaufmann, violoncello; Vito Lattarulo, piano - Ehrenfellner Music em 0001 (2012)
• Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 D 200, Symphony No. 1 op.21 - Sinfonietta Baden, conductor: Christoph Ehrenfellner - Ehrenfellner Music em 0002 (2012)

Movies

• Europe for President, by Thomas Altheimer - Music: Christoph Ehrenfellner - Documentary, A / D 2008, Superfilm Production

Web links

• Christoph Ehrenfellner's homepage
• Christoph Ehrenfellner's management
• Ehrenfellner at the Nordhausen Theater
• Christoph Ehrenfellner's monthly music salon

Individual evidence

1. ↑ see Ehrenfellner's portrait at the Austrian broadcaster for classical music Ö1 at / http://oe1.orf.at/artikel/214367
2. ↑ see curriculum vitae on the website of the Institute for Austrian Music Documentation: http://www.ioem.net/programmhefte/musiksalon2009_ehrenfellner.pdf
3. ↑ see website of the SCL International Youth Music Festival Vienna: Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.