Gunther Erdmann

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Gunther Erdmann (born July 26, 1939 in Oberdorla ; † October 6, 1996 in Berlin ) was a German composer .

Life

Gunther Erdmann comes from a family of craftsmen in Thuringia . After leaving school, he first became a shoemaker , but discovered his love for music very early on. From 1961 to 1966 he studied composition , choral conducting and piano at the “Hanns Eisler” University of Music in Berlin . His teachers included Rudolf Wagner-Régeny , Jürgen Wilbrandt, Günter Kochan and Fritz Höft. After the state examination he worked as a freelance composer. His thesis in the subject composition was the song cycle "Wasser rieselt, Wasser murmelt" based on German, Finnish and French folk poems. From 1965 he was musical director of the children's and youth ensemble music and movement at the house of the young talents in Berlin, where he and the dancer Anni Sauer the music pedagogy of Carl Orff was to use in practice. He held several functions in the Association of Composers and Musicologists of the GDR .

meaning

Gunther Erdmann was an important composer of choral music for children and young people. He has always sought personal collaboration with the choirs and adjusted to their character and abilities while composing. With his work he enriched the international children's and youth choir literature significantly. Erdmann has developed an unmistakable musical signature - down-to-earth, realistic, hearty, creative. He could not make friends with fashionable composition techniques. His works are tonal and aim at understanding as large an audience as possible. His principle was: "As simple as possible, as complicated as necessary". His special affection was always for the younger generation. Due to the division of Germany, Gunther Erdmann and his music are by no means known to every choir director. It is currently performed more frequently abroad than in Germany . The International Children's Choir Festival to be happy and sing in Halle (Saale) is an important contribution to popularizing its ideas and goals. The “Gunther Erdmann Prize” sets standards for the high quality of musical work with children. His arrangements of German and international folk songs as well as his stage and film music are also worth mentioning.
Erdmann's estate, which in addition to extensive sheet music also contains personal documents, photos and sound carriers, is kept in the music department of the Berlin State Library.

Works

Orchestral music

  • Intrada (homage to Josquin Desprez )
  • Ironesken (suite for orchestra)
  • Play box (orchestral music for children)

Choral works

  • Water trickles, water murmurs (cycle)
  • Peppered pouches (cycle)
  • Most beautiful, happiest star be the earth (cycle)
  • The world is a cage full of fools (cycle)
  • Siberian bathing room (cycle)
  • Since we were together (cycle)
  • Shalom (cycle)
  • Märkisches songbook (based on texts by Eva Strittmatter )
  • Musica Dantzerey (3 cheerful choral works)
  • Epitaph S.
  • Walking side by side (motet)
  • Heißa, Kathreinerle (concertante folk song arrangements)

Film music (selection)

Radio play music

Awards

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ https://staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/die-staatsbibliothek/abteilungen/musik/sammlungen/bestaende/nachlaesse/erdmann-gunther/
personal data
SURNAME Erdmann, Gunther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberdorla
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 1996
Place of death Berlin