Frank Michael Beyer

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Frank Michael Beyer, 1993

Frank Michael Beyer (born on 8. March 1928 in Berlin , died on 20th April 2008 ibid ) was a German composer and representative of the new music .

Life

Frank Michael Beyer's grave site

Beyer was born as the son of the writer and art historian Oskar Beyer and his wife Margarete, geb. Löwenfeld, born in Berlin. He spent his childhood in Dresden , Crete , Athens and Liechtenstein . From 1946 to 1949 he studied composition and church music at the church music school in Berlin. From 1950 to 1953 piano studies followed in Leipzig .

Beyer continued his composition studies in Berlin with Ernst Pepping and for “virtuoso organ playing” with Joseph Ahrens at the Berlin University of Music (today Berlin University of the Arts ). Johann S. Bach and the Vienna School, above all Anton Webern , are the composers with the greatest influence on Beyer's development. The example of his parents in dealing with music was also of great importance. He got to know Bach's music in his childhood; his father published a book about Bach in the Furche publishing house in Berlin in the 1920s.

Beyer worked as a church musician from 1950 to 1963 , both as an organ interpreter and conductor . He taught as a lecturer at the Church Music School in Berlin and later at the University of Music. From 1968 to 1993 he was a composition professor at the Berlin University of the Arts. In 1964 he initiated the “Musica nova sacra” series. From 1970 to 1985 Beyer was a board member of the Berlin Bach Days . Between 1986 and 2003 he held the position of director of the music department at the Berlin Academy of the Arts . In 1990 he initiated the Institute for New Music at the Berlin University of the Arts and the Berlin Orchestra Conference, which he then headed. From 1986 to 2006 he was a member of the Senate of the Academy of the Arts.

Beyer was also represented on the supervisory board of GEMA (Society for Musical Performance and Mechanical Reproduction Rights) . He died at the age of 80 in his hometown and was buried in the Berlin forest cemetery in Dahlem (field 002-14).

Honors and prizes

(Selection)

Catalog raisonné

ballet

  • Birth of Dance (1987), premier (under the ballet title “Orphic Scene”) 1988 Deutsche Oper Berlin / Choreography: Tom Schilling
  • Das Fenster (1991), contains music from “Greece” (1981) and “Action” (1991), premiered in 1992 in Hanover

orchestra

Chamber orchestra

  • Ricercare I (1957), UA 1958 Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin / Wolfgang Sawallisch
  • Versi (1968), premier 1968 Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester / Hans Zender
  • Concertino a tre (1974), WP 1974 Schwetzingen
  • String fantasies based on a motif by J. S. Bach (1977, also version for string quintet), UA 1980 Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester / Giuseppe Sinopoli
  • Greece - Music for three string groups (1981), premiered in 1982 Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester / Seiji Ozawa
  • Liturgia (based on the string quartet No. 3 "Missa") (1996), premier 1997 Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Lawrence Foster
  • Passionato con Arietta - Elegy for Strings (2005), premier 2006 Diez an der Lahn

Solo instrument (s) and orchestra

  • Concerto for flute and string orchestra (1967)
  • German Dances for Violoncello and Double Bass with Chamber Orchestra (1982), premiered 1984 Berlin
  • Mystery Sonata for orchestra with solo viola (1986), UA 1987 Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Sylvain Cambreling
  • Concerto for oboe and string orchestra (1986), premier 1987 Hansjörg Schellenberger / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Erich Leinsdorf
  • Early Music - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1992/93), premiered in 1993 by Kolja Blacher / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Hanns-Martin Schneidt
  • Canto di giorno for violoncello and orchestra (1998/99), UA 1999 Michael Sanderling / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Giuseppe Mega
  • Canzona di Ombra for oboe and strings (cadenza and final movement to the concerto for oboe and string orchestra, 1986/2003)
  • Concerto for viola and orchestra “Notte di pasqua” (2003-04 / 06), premier 2007 Tabea Zimmermann / German Symphony Orchestra Berlin / Jonathan Stockhammer
  • Meridian - Concerto for flute and string ensemble (2004/05), WP 2008 Emmanuel Pahud / Kammerakademie Potsdam / Michael Sanderling

Ensemble and chamber music

  • String Quartet I (1954/56)
  • Concert for organ and seven instruments (1966/69) premiered 1969 Peter Schwarz / Kasseler Ensemble
  • String Quartet II (1969) premiered 1969 Assmann Quartet, Berlin
  • Wind quintet (1972) premiered 1973 Berlin, wind quintet of the SWF Baden-Baden
  • De lumine - music for chamber ensemble (1978) premiered 1979 “the new work” Hamburg / Dieter Cichewiecz
  • Trio for oboe, viola and harp (1980) premiered in 1981 Mannheim, Heinz Holliger / Ursula Holliger
  • “Deutsche Tänze” for violoncello and double bass (1980) premiered 1980 Vienna, Jörg Baumann / Klaus Stoll
  • Fantasia concertante per due violini (1982) WP 1984 Hofheim, Boeckheler / Assmann
  • Passacaglia fantastica for piano trio (1984) Premiere 1986 Ludwigsburg, Stuttgart piano trio
  • String Quartet III “Missa” (1985) premiered 1985 Berlin, Wilanow Quartet
  • Symphonies for eight voices (1988) WP 1989 Scharoun-Ensemble Berlin
  • Architettura per musica for ensemble (1989) WP 1989 Berlin, musica-viva-ensemble Dresden
  • Sanctus for saxophone quartet (1990)
  • Gesta Romanorum for ensemble (1990)
  • Action for percussion ensemble (1991) Premiere 1993 Super Nova Percussion Ensemble Berlin
  • Canciones for clarinet and ensemble (1991) UA 1991 Alois Brandhofer / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Peter Keuschnig
  • Clarinet Quintet (1992) UA 1993 Stuttgart, Ulf Rodenhäuser
  • Nänie for two guitars (1994) WP 1994 Lüneburg, Evers / Weigel
  • “Windklang” for string trio (2000) WP 2003 Stuttgart, Ingolf Turban / Kolja Lessing / Wen-Sinn Yang
  • What Orpheus saw - sound images for string quartet (2003) UA 2004 Berlin, Vogler Quartet
  • Voca for three trumpets (2004) WP 2004 Hamburg
  • Lichtspuren for piano trio (2006) World premiere 2008 Kempen, Trio Wanderer
  • To the Islands - Suite for nine instruments (2005/06) WP 2008 Munich, conducted by Konstantia Gourzi
  • Choreography - Three mythical dances for twelve violoncellos (2007)

Instrumental solos

  • Toccata in Re for organ (1952) premiered 1953 Berlin, Frank Michael Beyer
  • Lays for organ (1957)
  • Variations for piano (1957)
  • Sonata for viola and organ (1962)
  • Tiento for flute and organ (1965)
  • Toccaten sub communione for organ (1970) WP 1970 Nuremberg, Peter Schwarz
  • Chaconne (1970)
  • Tiento II for organ (1972) premiered 1973 Berlin, Frank Michael Beyer
  • Sonata for violin and piano (1977) UA 1978 Berlin, Saschko Gawriloff / Lothar Broddack
  • Canti dei misteri for organ (1979)
  • Messesätze (Josquin / Beyer) for organ (1979)
  • Canzonetta for guitar (1979)
  • Avanti - 15 piano pieces for young players (1983)
  • Melos I and II for viola (1983/1990)
  • The Bell in Speyer for Organ (1984)
  • Echo for bass flute (1985)
  • Canticle of praise "Wurze des Waldes" for organ (1992)
  • Night piece for oboe and piano (1993) Premiere 1994 Düsseldorf, Christian Schneider / Frank Michael Beyer
  • Taglied for violoncello and piano (1998) World premiere 1998 Berlin, Georg Faust / Rolf Koenen
  • Imago for violoncello (2002)
  • Like a distant song for oboe (cadenza for concerto for oboe and string orchestra, for separate performance, 2004/05)
  • Metamorphosen - Hommage à A. Skrjabin for violin (2007) Premiere 2008 Berlin, Viviane Hagner

singing

  • Biblical scenes for mezzo-soprano and tenor (or soprano and baritone) and ensemble (1955)
  • Language of Lovers for baritone, chamber choir and orchestra (Hölderlin) (1961)
  • Lavatio - Manifestatio Christi for mixed choir a cappella (1962)
  • Maior Angelis for soprano, female choir and ensemble (1970) premiered in 1970 Berlin, Catherine Gayer / Kammerchor Ernst Senff / Frank Michael Beyer
  • Canticum Mose et Agni for eight-part choir a cappella (1976) premiered 1977 Berlin, Monteverdi Choir / John Eliot Gardiner
  • Et resurrexit - Choir Motets for twelve-part a cappella choir (2001/02) UA 2003 Rundfunkchor Berlin / Simon Halsey

Edits

  • Three psalms for baritone and piano by Boris Blacher , arranged for baritone and ensemble by Frank Michael Beyer (1943, arr. 1966)
  • Musical sacrifice - The contrapuntal movements: Ricercare a 3, Fuga canonica & 9 canons, by Johann Sebastian Bach , arranged for chamber orchestra by Frank Michael Beyer for performance together with Bach's Ricercare a 6 in an arrangement by Anton Webern (arr. 1985) UA 1985 Berlin , London Sinfonietta / Diego Masson
  • Cadenza dolce on the Andante in C major for flute and orchestra KV 315 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (2007) UA 2008 Berlin, Emmanuel Pahud

student

literature

  • Werner Grünzweig u. Daniela Reinhold (Ed.): Frank Michael Beyer . Archives on 20th Century Music. Volume 2. Wolke Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3923997825 .
  • Andreas Richter: " An interview with the composer and chairman of the Berlin Orchestra Conference Frank Michael Beyer", in: Das Orchester 01/1995.
  • A lot of information about Beyer's world premieres in: Alain Pâris: Classical Music in the 20th Century. Instrumentalists, singers, conductors, orchestras, choirs. Translated by Rudolf Kimmig, edited by Ralf Noltensmeier. With an introduction by Peter Gülke, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2. Erw. 1997 edition, ISBN 3423325011 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Beyer, Frank Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and representative of new music
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH April 20, 2008
Place of death Berlin