Gérard interest day
Gérard Zinsstag (born May 9, 1941 in Geneva ) is a Swiss composer who founded the Days for New Music in 1986 together with Thomas Kessler in Zurich .
Life
Gérard Zinsstag attended the Collège Calvin in Geneva and then the local conservatory. He wrote poetry and learned Russian at an early age, but dropped out of high school and instead attended lectures in philosophy and literature at the University of Geneva .
At the age of sixteen he gave concerts as a flautist and composed occasional pieces. Even without a diploma, he went to France , where he was able to continue studying at the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) after the admission competition .
After a long stay in Rome, he returned to the north and occasionally played in Germany (Deutsche Gastspieloper Berlin) and with the Orchester de la Suisse romande . In 1969 he was accepted into the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich , which he left after seven years.
At the age of 33 he began to study composition with Hans Ulrich Lehmann . He soon received orders, for example from Swiss television , the city of Zurich , the Camerata Zurich and the Tonhalle Orchestra. As a private student he continued his studies with Helmut Lachenmann in Stuttgart and Hanover .
In 1976 and 1978 he took an active part in the Darmstadt Summer Courses , where two of his works were premiered. He attended the courses of György Ligeti , Karlheinz Stockhausen , Helmut Lachenmann , Gérard Grisey and Mauricio Kagel and made friends with the musicologists Martin Zenck and Hermann Danuser .
In 1978 he received a commission from Südwestfunk-Baden for the Donaueschinger Musiktage : In 1979 , Foris , a piece for two orchestras , was premiered under the direction of Ernest Bour . With this composition he established himself in the musical landscape of Germany. In 1981 he received a scholarship from the DAAD Berlin (together with Gérard Grisey). Since then a deep friendship has developed with the French composer.
From then on, Zinsstag's music was performed more and more frequently in Germany and France, for example by the Ensemble l'Itinéraire , the Nouvel Orchester Philharmonique, the Ensemble InterContemporain, and thanks to Radio France , which commissioned him for several works. In 1985, with the support of Thomas Kessler, he decided to found the Days for New Music in Zurich , which he directed until 1994. This festival was made possible by the support of Peter Schweiger, who was the director of the Theater am Neumarkt at the time and who made the stage of this theater available to him until 1988.
In 1995, Zinsstag gave up teaching at the Zurich Conservatory and from then on devoted himself exclusively to composing. His works have been performed under the direction of the following conductors: Gilbert Amy , Gerald Bennett , Ernest Bour , Igor Dronov, Péter Eötvös , Mark Foster , Matthias Kuhn, Fabio Luisi , Christoph-Mathias Mueller , Robert HP Platz , Pierre-André Valade, Mario Venzago , Jürg Wyttenbach and David Zinman .
Works (selection)
- Déliements (1975) for dismantled flute and organ
- tatastenfelder (1975), instrumental theater for 3 typewriters, piano, backdrop and tape
- if for example (1975) based on a text by Franz Mon, for 4 speakers and 5 musicians
- suono reale (1976) for strangled piano
- Foris (1978/1979) for large orchestra divided into two groups
- Perforation (1980) for 2 pianos, electric guitar, 3 drums and 2 cellos
- Trauma (1980/1981) for double choir a cappella
- Artifices (1982/1983) for ensemble, 2 tapes and electro-acoustic device
- Incalzando (1982) for two pianos
- Sept fragments (1982-1984), first string quartet
- Artifices II (1988) for ensemble, 2 tapes and electroacoustic device
- Anaphores (1989) Fantasy for piano and orchestra
- Tempor (1991/1992) for flute, clarinet, piano and string trio
- 2nd string quartet (1994/1995)
- Hommage à Charles Racine (1996/1997) based on a selection of poems by Charles Racine, for mezzo-soprano and ensemble
- Ubu cocu (1998–2001), Opera buffa, 11 soloists and orchestra
- Trois études pour marimba basse (1998)
- Passage (2000/2001) for orchestra
- Cinq fragments (2001), shorter version of the first string quartet
- Kinêsis (2002) for oboe and piano
- 3rd string quartet (2002/2003)
- Empreintes (2003) for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
- Ubuphonie (2004) for tenor, mezzo, bass and orchestra
- Gilgamesh (2004/2007) for speaker, instrumental ensemble, dance and video
- Mozaic (2008) for cello and piano
- Cinq petites études sur les résonances for piano
- Bing (2009), based on a text by Samuel Beckett , for voice and ensemble
- Lasciar vibrar (2010), for ensemble
- Anaphores (2011), version for piano and ensemble
- Eskatos (2012), for 12 solo voices, brass and percussion
- Seul, l'écho (2011/2012), for voice (mezzo-soprano or alto) and ensemble based on a poem by Joël-Claude Meffre
- Ricercari (2014) for Bayan and Ensemble
- Tahir (2014), version for viola and percussion
- Katharina Lips (2014) for double choir a cappella (2 x 8)
- Rilke-Lieder (2015), for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, violin, viola and violoncello
- Masques (2015–2016) for piano and orchestra
- Discolorato (2016) for mezzo-soprano and small ensemble
- Partita (2015–2016) for wind octet
- Piano quartet (2016–2017) for piano, violin, viola and cello
- Incantation (2017) for solo flute
- S'un casto amor (2018) for 5 voices a cappella
- 11 mosaïques (2018) for violoncello, bass marimba and string orchestra
Web links
- Biography, discography and list of works by Gérard Zinsstag on musinfo.ch
- Homepage of Gérard Zinsstag
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Interest day, Gérard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 9, 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Geneva |